Changes
by smiling
Summary: Sequel to and the last fic in the Reyals Rellik and Back to the Beginning series.
1. Chapter 1

**Introduction**

This series started with Reyal's Rellik, continued onto Back to the Beginning and hopefully is concluding with Changes

Both stories can be found on FFN under my penname.

I will leave a brief synopsis for those of you who 1) Need a refresher and 2) Want to read this but don't want to read two stories before it.

These stories can be read as standalones 

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Reyal's Rellik 

After the Sunnydale battle, Faith heads off on her own. She winds up in L.A. and hooks up with the AI gang. Faith encounters a big bad that she's been dreaming about.

They find it, beat it, Faith gets antsy and needs to leave. Spike needs a break from tall-dark-and-broody. They take off in the Viper Angel gave Faith just to piss Spike off.

Back to the Beginning 

This picks up shortly after Reyal's ended. Faith and Spike have become an item, I won't say couple, because its Faith we're talking about here. Faith starts having dreams again and realizes that she and Spike need to go back to Sunnydale, which has somehow come back, where they meet up with the Scoobies.

Chaos ensues, everyone lives and Faith tells Spike she's not ready for a relationship. He heads back to L.A. to tend to his love wounds once more.

Faith and the gang kiss and make up. BttB ends with the lot of them heading to Italy after Buffy asks Faith to come with.

That should about do it. So without further ado….

XXXXX

Detroit.

How in the hell did she end up in Detroit? _Would you like to come back to Italy with us? _B had asked. That's what Faith had agreed to. Villas and sunshine and men and wine and pasta…

Somewhere between the cheap hotel and the pasta, the plan had changed. In the time it took Faith to pack up all six possessions and meet the gang out front, the trip to Italy had turned into a flight to Detroit.

"Um, Giles called," Buffy had said. "There's been a small change in plans."

"What kind of change?" Faith asked.

"In location."

"You know what they say," Xander said, while loading their bags into the car. "Location. Location. Location."

"It won't be that bad," Willow added.

"Would someone mind telling me what the hell you three are talking about?" Faith demanded.

Buffy wound up being that someone. "We're not going to Italy. We're going to Detroit."

"Detroit? What the hell is in Detroit?"

"Another hellmouth."

"There's a hellmouth in Cleveland and Detroit?" Faith asked, confused.

"No. There isn't a hellmouth in Cleveland. It's in Detroit."

"Giles said it was in Cleveland."

"He wasn't serious," Buffy said, laughing nervously, "he was actually joking with us."

_And here we are, _Faith thought as they landed at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport. "Frickin' Detroit."

"You say something?" Xander asked.

Faith turned and looked at him, shaking her head. "I didn't say nothing."

"That's funny, because I thought I heard you say 'Frickin' Detroit'."

Faith smiled. "You're a shithead."

"Not the best thing I've been called, but hey, not the worst either," he said, smiling. "Is that snow?" Xander asked, pointing out the window.

Faith sighed. "I hate snow."

"Contain yourself," Xander said. "All your enthusiasm is contagious."

"Just you wait," she said, standing. "Ten minutes in this shit and you're going to be crying like a baby cause your ass is frozen."

Xander stood, reaching into the overhead compartment. "I've seen snow before…from a sleeping bag in my backyard and it was Christmas, so it wasn't all bad," he said, handing Faith her bag.

"Winter sucks. Going days on end without sunlight and on the days when the sun actually shines, it's too frickin' cold to even go outside. Not being able to get warm, wet and soggy feet… If your favorite color is gray, then this is the place for you," Faith said, working her way into the aisle.

"Sounds like a vampire's playground," he said, catching up to her.

"And another hellmouth," Faith said, trying to edge her way by a couple who had stopped to argue over carry-on luggage. "Could you move your asses, please?" she said as she pushed her way by them.

"Someone's cranky," Buffy said as she and Willow caught up.

"Faith doesn't like snow," Xander informed her.

"Can't say I blame her," Willow agreed. "I think I'm already cold and all I did was look at it."

"Ahh, come on guys. Try to think positive," Xander said.

Faith finally made her way to the gangway, the rest following closely behind her.

"Okay, B. What's positive about being in Detroit in the winter?"

"Well there's Motown," she said too brightly.

"That'll be interesting for about a minute and a half," Faith retorted.

"I heard they have markets, like outside," Willow added.

"Markets in the dead of winter? Oooh, look at me getting all excited," Faith said.

"What is your problem?" Buffy asked. "What's with all the cranky?"

Faith sighed, for what felt like the thousandth time since leaving California. Stopping, she turned and looked at her. "Sorry, B. Just, I don't know. Too close to Boston for comfort I guess."

"But it's not Boston," Buffy said. "It's Detroit. It's another hellmouth. It's where we need to be right now. And you're not alone."

Faith smiled. "Look at you being all cheerleady. Thought you were ready to give this all up."

"Not give it up. I'm sharing. Remember the sharing?" she added, smiling.

"I'm just glad we don't have to go get our luggage," Willow said. "That conveyer belt scares me. All those identical suitcases going around and around, just begging me to grab the wrong one. And just think about what would happen if someone accidentally got my newt feet!"

"Someone would have some 'splaining to do," Xander said, smirking.

"And I'd have guilt. And no newt's feet!" she added, frowning.

As Faith watched, Buffy stopped up short, scanning the airport. Willow and Xander were so immersed in their newt's feet conversation, they both almost walked into her.

"What?" Xander asked, stopping suddenly.

"What is it, B?

"Giles said someone would be here to meet us. Said I would know when I saw them. I'm not seeing anyone I know."

"Are we in the right spot?" Willow asked.

"Yep. Said to wait at the rent-a-car place just outside the gate," Buffy replied.

"Maybe someone has one of those signs. One like I made for Willow, you know the yellow crayon one," Xander suggested.

"And what would it say?" Faith asked. "Detroit's Hellmouth - Slayers Here, and not like you could read it if it's in yellow crayon. How dumb is that?"

"Okay, signs, bad idea."

Faith glanced around quickly, seeing if she could spot whoever was picking them up. She shifted her bag on her arm, pissed off because it kept sliding down her shoulder. Once she had it secured, she looked up and began scanning the crowd again. Realization dawned as her eyes focused on someone familiar. "No way," she said.

"What?" Buffy asked following Faith's gaze.

"Giles!" Buffy exclaimed, running to him and giving him a big hug. "I didn't know it was going to be you. I was expecting… Actually, I don't know what I was expecting."

"Buffy," Giles said as he hugged her back. "I decided it was the least I could do, considering your little detour and all."

"Giles!" Willow said, rushing and joining in on the hug, dropping her bag in the process.

"Oh, my" Giles said. "Yes, hello, Willow."

Faith knew Xander was looking at her. "What?" she asked, giving him a sideways glance.

"Not joining in?"

"Nope. Part of the deal."

"What deal?" Xander asked.

"The coming with deal. No hugging," Faith said matter-of-factly, letting her bag fall to the floor and crossing her arms in front of her. "Nothing's stopping you, though." She nodded towards Giles, Buffy, and Willow.

Xander glanced at the others. "Nah, I'll let the girls have their Giles moment."

"You are all looking remarkably well," Giles said as both Buffy and Willow finally let him go. "Especially considering the ordeal you have been through."

"Gotta love the slayer healing," Faith said, as Giles, Buffy, and Willow joined her and Xander.

"We most definitely do," Giles said, smiling.

"And being locked in a cave during the big fight thing," Xander added. "That helps a lot too."

Giles shook his head, obviously enjoying every moment with them. "So the hellmouth is closed and The Master is gone once and for all?"

"Pretty much how we left it," Buffy said. "Now if it actually stays that way…"

"You should be asking Willow about that one," Faith added.

"I closed it back up," Willow said, proudly. "Didn't have much to work with, but I think we won't need to worry about Sunnydale anymore."

"Buffy told me what you did. Exemplary work. You should be proud," Giles said.

Faith watched as Willow turned all different shades of red. "We're all proud of her," Faith said. "Willow being 'Da Witch' and all."

"Yep, our little Willow is all grown up," Xander added, wiping an imaginary tear away from his good eye.

"And Spike?" Giles asked cautiously. "No word on why he came back?"

Faith wasn't about to answer; she frankly wasn't in the mood to get into the whole thing again. Thankfully, Buffy began to speak.

"Nope. Talked to him a little bit about it and they're at a loss. Like everything else, I'm sure they'll find out one day. But I guess they have their own thing going on, so finding out why he's back isn't on top of Angel's _To Do_ list, or Spike's for that matter."

"Very good then. And your trip here was uneventful?" he asked.

"Does Faith bitching the entire way constitute being uneventful?" Xander asked.

"Back off, Sinbad," Faith snapped.

"Sinbad? Sinbad wasn't even a pirate and he didn't wear a patch," Xander replied.

"You still got the point, didn't you?" Faith asked, slinging her bag over her shoulder. "We gonna stand here all day or can we leave?"

Faith expected Giles to give the nod; instead, he took off his glasses, as if inspecting them for a smudge. Xander voiced her very thoughts.

"That can't be good."

"What is it, Giles?" Buffy asked, her excitement turning to concern.

"Detour might not be the accurate term."

"And the accurate term would be…?" Xander prodded.

Giles smiled, anxiously. "Welcome home."

"Home?" they all said in unison.

"Yes. I'm afraid so."

"What's going on?" Xander asked.

Giles glanced around quickly, as if suddenly noticing all the people milling about. "I'll explain further when we have a little more privacy. Shall we?"

"Finally!" Faith exclaimed.

They made their way through the airport in silence, emerging in the parking garage where Giles had left the van. Buffy jumped in the front seat, Willow and Xander sat behind them, and Faith climbed into the back.

Once Giles maneuvered his way out of the airport traffic, he began. "Detroit, as you now know, is on a hellmouth. Ever since the Sunnydale Hellmouth was closed last summer, the Detroit Hellmouth has steadily grown more active. In addition, there is a potential, or more accurately, a new slayer here. She's been fending for herself since she was activated. If the truth were to be told, she is somewhat shy, tends toward the meek side, and needs training. Frankly, I'm surprised she has lasted this long. So instead of removing her from the hellmouth and bringing her to Italy, I thought it would be a better idea to bring Italy to her."

"So welcome home," Faith mumbled from the back of the van, staring out the window and watching the snow blur into a shades of gray that went speeding by her field of vision in a never ending flow of nothingness. "I hate snow."

"What was that, Faith?" Giles asked, glancing in the rearview mirror.

"Faith's not happy," Xander said. "She hates snow and cold and Detroit, for that matter."

"I can talk for myself," Faith interjected. "I hate snow and the cold and Detroit, for that matter."

"They sat together on the plane," Willow said. "I think they may have bonded."

"We've bonded before," Faith said wryly. "And that ain't it."

Giles cleared his throat. "If I may return to the topic, I have rented a flat for us. Emma will be joining us there."

"Emma?" Buffy asked. "Is that the slayer you were talking about?"

"Yes, she is. She's expecting us. Not tonight, due to the time, but she will come over in the early afternoon. I wanted to take the jet lag into consideration," he said.

"Oh yeah, jet lag. Forgot about that useful bit of information." Faith snorted. "On California time. Might as well get some slaying in when we get _home_," she said. "I've been on my ass long enough for one day."

"I would probably hold off on that," Buffy said. "We don't know the area all that well. We should wait for Emma. Right Giles? She's patrolled before. Knows the area? She'll be able to help?"

"Yes, Buffy. I would assume so. Emma is ready to give us an overview, including where she's found the most demon activity. The downtown area seems to be very popular among them from what she's told me." He turned down a residential street, pulling into a driveway. "Here were are."

Faith looked out the window and took in her surroundings. The house Giles had rented didn't look like all that much from the outside. Two-story colonial, dark colors from what she could tell, porch, tall wooden gate separating the front of the house from the backyard. She wondered briefly if there was a pool. Where did that come from? Oh yeah, she hated winter, that's where it had come from.

She glanced up and down the street as she made her way from the van, not surprised that it looked like any number of streets that she had been on in her short life. There was a big maple tree just off the curb. Shady in the summer, looking dead and abandoned in the winter. Faith pulled her jacket tighter around her neck.

Yep, winter and she didn't miss it. Not one bit.

XXXXX

Giles gave them a tour of the house. When he pointed out her room, Faith took the opportunity and ditched the others. She tossed her bag on the bed and her jacket on a chair. She wandered over to the window and looked out, not seeing much of anything.

She knew she had been in a snippy mood since finding out about the change in plans. She just couldn't help it. Her life had changed so much in such a short period of time; sometimes she feared she didn't know which way was up anymore. Add being closer to Boston then she had been in awhile…well, it felt a little too much like going back home. And that didn't sit well with her at all.

Faith turned from the window and scanned the room; there wasn't much to it. A bed with a nightstand next to it, a dresser, and a chair. So much for watching TV to help her sleep. There was a clock radio on the nightstand. Music would work, and then she noticed the time. Midnight. Nine o'clock in her old life. She briefly wondered what Spike was doing.

Faith rushed to her bag, tossing clothes out of the way and found it. The cellphone. She hadn't lost it; she still had a tie to them, to him, if she needed it. If the cold got to her and she needed to leave. Or if Detroit began feeling a little too much like home, and not in a good way.

But L.A.? Faith wasn't stupid, that would be a little too much too soon at this point, for both of them.

There was a knock at the door.

"Yo," she said, not bothering to open it.

"Can I come in?" It was B.

"Come," Faith said, shoving the phone back into her bag, suddenly curious why she felt the need to hide it.

"Hey," Buffy said, closing the door behind her. "How you doing?"

"Five by five," Faith said, smiling weakly.

Buffy returned her smile. "Know better now, Faith. What's going on with you?"

Faith plopped on the bed and Buffy sat down next to her. "Don't know, B. Just is."

"What just is?" she asked.

"If I knew what it was, I could fix it, now couldn't I?"

"Is it Spike?"

"We've been through this. It's over and done with, you know?"

"Doesn't mean you can't miss him."

Faith looked at her. "I could say the same about you."

Buffy smiled. "You could. But I'm good. I'm kind of glad we're staying in the States." She crinkled her eyebrows. "Although not so happy with the white stuff. And honestly? I never really liked Italy all that much."

"Wait a minute. You told me that Italy was all homey to you now."

"I lied."

"You lied? I just keep finding out all sorts of interesting stuff about you, don't I?"

Buffy said teasingly. "How boring would it be if you didn't? Besides, Giles said that the rest of them would be coming shortly, after we get set up."

"The rest of them?" Faith asked.

Buffy frowned. "I'm not really sure. More slayers, I would assume. Not sure if he's bringing some back from Italy or leaving them there. He really didn't say."

"What about the munchkin?" Faith asked.

Buffy smiled. "Dawnie too, but not for a while yet. I want her to finish out her semester. She won't be too happy with that, but then she'll chill and realize that this time she gets to come and stay."

"B gets some alone time away from the little sis and there's no immediate big bad to fight. What are you going to do with all your free time?" Faith asked teasingly.

Buffy laughed. "I'm thinking sleep would be good. Shopping works. Soaking in a hot tub. There's got to be a mall around here." Buffy perked up. "And Motown."

"What is it with you and that place?"

"Actually… nothing. She sighed. "Heard a deejay talk about it once when I was listening to the radio."

"So you pretty much pulled it outta your ass?"

"Pretty much," she said with a slight smile.

"B, you're too much sometimes," Faith said, laughing. Faith watched as Buffy's face turned serious. "God, what now? Should've known you weren't here to be all chatty."

Buffy raised her hands in an _it's nothing_ gesture. "I can be chatty without it being the end of the world. I just wanted to let you know that I called Angel to let him know where we were and to make sure that Spike made it back okay."

"What?" she demanded. Panic? Was that what that feeling was?

"He's fine. He made it back. Didn't tell Angel much, well about the hellmouth and The Master and us going back to Italy. Guess he didn't mention any of this," she finished, motioning to both of them. "Doesn't surprise me."

"Being that 'love's bitch' thing?" Faith asked.

"Pretty much."

"Man, Angel could really beat him up good with that one," Faith said.

"What? Us?" Buffy asked.

"Exactly."

Buffy was thoughtful for a moment. "I don't think he will. Can't say why. Just a feeling. But I think Angel will let Spike tend to his wounds for a little while at least. Spike's safe and he knows we're safe. Everyone's safe. And tonight, that's how I'm going to think. That way I can get at least one good night's sleep," she said, standing. "Well, until we find out what's going on when Emma gets here tomorrow." Buffy turned to go. "You should probably do the same thing."

Faith smiled. "Yes, Mom."

Buffy shook her head and closed the door behind her.

XXXXX


	2. Chapter 2

Faith stumbled out of bed around noon. She wasn't surprised to find that everyone else was up before her; Buffy, Willow, and Xander were all sitting at the old oak kitchen table. Xander was looking at the Tweety Bird clock hanging on the wall. "What?" she asked. "I was tired."

The sun shone fiercely, reflecting off the snow and the windowpanes, making the yellow kitchen even brighter. "Damn, remind me to get some breakfast shades," she said, pouring herself a cup of coffee.

"Breakfast? Try lunch. It's afternoon already," Xander said.

"Leave her alone, Xander," Willow said. "We haven't been up that long ourselves."

Faith rolled her eyes and then noticed that everyone's coffees were resting on matching yellow Tweety Bird placemats; their butts parked on yellow Tweety Bird chair cushions that covered the matching oak chairs. "Is there anything in the kitchen that isn't yellow?"

"Just us," he said, grinning.

Faith smiled, looking at Willow. "I knew I couldn't have been that much behind you. You're all still in your jammies."

Faith realized that Giles was standing in the opposite doorway, sipping what she knew had to be tea, from yet another matching yellow mug, watching them all silently. A brief flicker of guilt passed through her when she realized that he was probably the only one who'd been up well before noon. "Well, except for you, G, who somehow, no matter what the occasion, always seems to be dressed," Faith said, pulling out a chair and sitting down at the kitchen table, averting her eyes from him.

"How'd you sleep?" Buffy asked.

Faith yawned. "Not bad, I guess. Dying for the java and a shower though. Can tell you that much," Faith replied, taking a big gulp of her coffee. "And I'm starving."

"So what is the plan for today anyway?" Xander asked, getting up and pouring himself another cup.

"Well," Giles began, "there's quite a bit actually. Emma will be here around 2:00 o'clock. That will leave plenty of time to get to know her prior to patrolling." Giles turned to Xander. "And you have an appointment."

Xander looked shocked. "What kind of appointment?"

Giles proceeded cautiously. "We, uh, we discussed it before you left for Sunnydale, the possibility of…"

"Oooh," Willow said. "Xander's getting his eye! He is, isn't he?"

Xander looked shocked. His hand shot up to his patch and for once, he didn't have a comeback.

Faith knew that he was having issues with the entire thing. The both of them did a lot of talking on the plane, but whenever the subject of his eye came up, Xander would mumble something and then change the subject. It took a lot of prodding, but Faith had finally gotten him to talk about it.

She about fell out of her seat on the plane when she realized that Xander was afraid.

"Dude," Faith told him. "Can't hurt any worse then it did when dickhead gouged it out in the first place. Besides, the pirate look, it's so over," she concluded, smiling and nudging him with her shoulder.

Faith had felt the relief wash over him. She believed that Xander had been hoarding this huge secret from everybody and then he just kind of unloaded it all on her… and he looked surprised that he actually survived the telling of it. After everything he had been through, the poor guy was afraid of the doctor. There was something ironic in there somewhere.

"Yes," Giles was saying, bringing her back to the present, "it took quite a bit of time, but Xander's medical records have been shipped here, and it is ready to be, well…"

"Installed?" Faith said, her eyes glinting as she took a sip of coffee.

"For lack of a better word, yes. Installed," Giles concluded. "But I believe I would have chosen a different one."

"Inserted works," Buffy added.

"Inserted makes me think of something entirely different B," Faith said, glad that Buffy was tagging along for the ride.

"Please!" Giles implored. "Let us not do this again."

Faith could see Xander's entire demeanor shift. "There's nothing we can do, Giles. It's a Faith thing," he said. "You kind of get used to it after awhile. It's all sex, sex, sex, sex. Not that there's anything wrong with that."

"Yeah, like you'd ever get used to this," Faith said, standing up and giving her hips a roll.

"Faith…" Giles began.

"I'm just saying," she said, sitting down and picking her coffee cup back up.

"With regards to you, Faith, your car should be delivered either today or tomorrow."

"Sweet. My Viper," Faith said, beaming. "Things are looking up. Too bad it's a convertible. Have I mentioned I hate winter?"

"If we're not here," Giles continued, barely keeping the exasperation out of his voice, "they will leave the car and place the keys in the box on the porch."

"The mailbox," Faith said, matter-of-factly.

"Yes, that box."

"Well, I guess we need to get moving," Buffy said, standing up. "There are three showers in this place and I'm counting four of us that still need one."

"If you say the last one in is a rotten…" Xander said.

"No worries, there'll be no eggs that are rotten," Buffy said. "I'm using the one upstairs. It's flowery and pretty... and the shower is a lot bigger than the other two." Using her slayer speed to unfair advantage, Buffy bolted out of the room and up the stairs.

"That means I get the one down here," Willow said. "It's not flowery, but it's not spidery like the one in the basement." She shuddered. "Yeah I know. Witch, spiders, but not when I'm in the shower and not when it feels like they're always looking at me." Willow followed Buffy's lead and ducked out.

"Guess we know where that leaves me," Xander said, standing. "If anyone calls me spider-boy…" He met their eyes, and then left the kitchen.

Faith was uncomfortably aware that only she and Giles were left in the kitchen. One on one time had never been big with the two of them, not when there were others always around. For being the one who always had something to say, she was suddenly speechless and that bugged her even more.

Giles was glancing at his cup as he swirled his tea around, his eyes never wandering in her direction. He slowly moved to the sink and placed his cup in it. Faith couldn't be sure, but he seemed to be as uncomfortable as she was.

She watched him out of the corner of her eye, not wanting to let on that she was actually spying on him. She wished he would just go somewhere, anywhere. She wanted more coffee, she was hungry, and some small part of her believed that if she didn't move, he wouldn't see her

So much for that plan.

"Faith, do you mind?" he asked, walking over to the table and indicating a previously vacated chair.

"Why would I mind?" she said, blurting out the first thing that came to mind, and then regretting it immediately.

"How are you?" he asked, joining her at the table.

Faith eyed him suspiciously. "Why do people keep asking me that?"

"You've been through a lot, Faith. It is only natural for people to be concerned as to how you're holding up."

"If I tell you I'm fine and mean it, can we not bring it up again?"

Giles was studying her face. What was he looking for? Would there be some sign that she was lying? No, there wouldn't be any sign, because she wasn't lying. "I'm okay. Seriously."

He sighed. "There are certain things I believe need to be said. This appears to be as good a time as any."

"If you're going to start lecturing me on my responsibilities…"

"No! Heavens no. Buffy expressed, well, to me at least, that you two have put your past behind you; that you both are starting anew. I just wanted to make my peace as well. There were situations that I could have, no should have, handled better. When you first came to Sunnydale being one of those times."

"Whoa," Faith said. "No need to dredge up ancient history, okay?"

It was as if he hadn't heard her.

"When I found out that your watcher had been killed, even after Wesley had shown up, I should have done more. With the council mess and then Wesley appearing unannounced, it all clouded my better judgment. Frankly, Faith, you should have been helped more and not been left alone in some dilapidated hotel room."

Faith was shocked. It wasn't like she was angelic back then. She'd made her share of mistakes, some of them huge and unforgivable, but Giles? It had taken her time to get over B's apology, accept it, and know that they had moved on. She had her suspicions that this Giles thing would take a lot longer to process.

"Giles," Faith said, more loudly this time. "Yo, I get it. It's fine. I just… well, thanks, but not necessary, okay?"

"It was necessary for me," Giles said. "Nevertheless, if you need anything, to talk, _anything_, you can come to me. I realize that your past experiences with watchers has been less than pleasant. I would like to change that. I'm here for you Faith."

And he meant it. Faith could see it in his eyes. "I promise. Honest," she said, holding up her right hand. "I swear and all that stuff."

"Good," he said, standing and squeezing her shoulder gently. "I will leave you and let you get something to eat."

"Thanks, Giles… and I mean it."

"Thank you, Faith."

XXXXX

By the time Faith had finished, it was 1:30. The closer it got to 2:00 o'clock, the more curious she got about the new slayer. Emma had been on the Detroit Hellmouth for over a year, alone, and she was still alive? Add shy and meek on top of that, how'd that happen?

After making her way downstairs and into the living room, Faith was surprised to find that Buffy was there alone, reading a magazine.

"Where is everybody?"

"Giles drove Xander to get his eye," she paused, looking up. "I'm sorry, but does that sound just wrong to you?"

"Um, yeah, a little bit."

"That's what I was thinking. Willow went along for moral support. Giles said we could get to know Emma on our own, the whole slayer-to-slayer-to-slayer thing. I had enough slayers, didn't I?" she asked, setting down her magazine and counting on her fingers.

Faith smiled. "Yep."

Faith walked over and plopped on the couch that was situated in front of the picture window. Peeling back the dark curtains, she glanced out. "Hey, look at all that snow."

"Faith," Buffy began, "you really, I mean really, need to get over this whole snow thing."

Faith glanced over her shoulder. "I'm sure I will, B. In like April or May." Faith turned towards the window again and smiled to herself. "But you can forget about the entire holy water part of your stash. Doesn't work very well when it's frozen."

Buffy laughed. "I never thought about that. See? Look at how helpful you are. You can teach us all how to slay in freezy goodness. What else?"

Faith turned around and looked at her. "You're serious?"

"Yep."

Faith thought about it for a moment. "Gotta be careful how you dress. If it's really cold and you layer, you know bundle up really good in a bunch of loose clothes, you won't be able to fight very well. You want to dress as light as you can, and as tight as you can, without freezing your ass off in the meantime. Oh, and find some good boots, ones that tie up really tight, with a good thick rubber sole on them. Nothing worse then losing a boot in a snow bank or falling on your ass chasing some vamp down a snow packed alley 'cause you slipped."

Buffy looked at her. "You know, I was half-kidding, but I really never thought about that. Maybe I'm starting to see your point. Snow does suck."

Faith laughed. "See, now you're feeling my pain, B. The old hellmouth isn't looking so bad now, is it?"

"Well, I don't think I'd go to that extreme," she said, smiling.

"Not much we can do about it now, being here and all," Faith said, checking out the living room. "Didn't look at this place when we got here, but man, what is all this stuff?" she asked, picking up a knick knack that was sitting on an old roll top desk.

Buffy joined her. "Giles said this was an old watcher's house. Umm, not an _old_ watcher, but his house."

Faith put the eyesore down and turned to Buffy. "Do you even know what you're saying?"

"Of course I do," Buffy said, sitting down. "The watcher wasn't old, not super old, but his house kinda is. Inherited it from his mother or something. Didn't change it much after that. He was in London when council headquarters went boom. Of course, since he was a watcher, he really didn't have any friends or family here, so his house went to the Council, or what's left of them. I guess he left it to them. I'm not sure on that part."

"So if he would've lived…"

"He probably would've been Emma's watcher if she ever got called the normal way."

"They were so close to each other. Why wasn't he her watcher already? Isn't it kind of bizzaro that you have a potential slayer and a watcher and they hadn't hooked up yet?"

"You could say that," Buffy said. "Giles said that's why this guy was in England. They were going to activate him for Emma. I guess they couldn't afford to have every potential armed with a watcher, but his turn had come again. Guess he was pretty excited about it. Giles said that he had chances at other potentials before, but he wouldn't move. Once Emma came up on their radar, they were ready to give her to him and it would've worked out too…"

"If he wouldn't have gone boom."

"Yep."

Faith checked the room out even more. Everywhere she looked, she saw bric-a-brac. Old lady bric-a-brac. It reminded her of her grandmother's house. Glass angels, and candles, and vases, and unicorns were everywhere. In the furthest corner from where Faith stood, she saw a china cabinet with what had to be antique china in it. The living room was as dark as the kitchen was light.

Faith briefly wondered why the watcher had left so many of his mother's things out. Did he not have the time, or the heart to get rid of it all?

"Well, that explains a lot," Faith said. "The yellow-kitchen-from-hell, definitely screaming old lady."

Buffy laughed. "Was thinking the same thing about the bathroom upstairs. Wallpaper with huge blue flowers on every single wall and the curtains to match."

Faith sat back down on the couch. "How long she been dead?"

"No idea. And I'm trying not to think about it too much… creep factor and all."

"Good plan."

From somewhere in the house, a grandfather clock chimed twice. Faith looked at Buffy. "2:00 pm huh? Wonder where our new addition is?"

Buffy shrugged her shoulders. "She'll be here."

"I'll be right back. I'm going to take a peek outside. Who knows? Maybe she got lost and she's wandering aimlessly up and down the street," Faith said. She didn't have the chance to turn the knob. Someone was knocking on the door by the time she got to it. "Guess that answers that. Prompt little thing," she said, opening the door.

"Emma," she said, not exactly sure how to greet a slayerette. "Come." Faith stood back and let her in. "Faith," indicating herself, "and that's Buffy."

"Hi, Emma," Buffy said, as she joined them in the small entryway. "Let me take your coat."

Leave it to B to play welcoming committee. Faith was still trying to get over what Emma actually looked like. For some reason when Giles had told them that she was _shy and meek_, Faith immediately pictured her to be a book type. Kind of a dork. Emma wasn't either, really.

She was the same height as Faith, but had the coloring of Buffy, the hair anyway, but not the eyes. Her eyes were a dark brown like Faith's. Her hair was curly and from what Faith could tell, it spiraled halfway down the girl's back. That would get her into a heap of trouble patrolling. Faith had expected someone young, but Emma wasn't young. Faith could be wrong, but she would peg Emma to be her age, or maybe a year or so younger.

Faith's experience with shy people was that they lacked the eye contact. Emma had no problem looking either of them in the eye. Maybe Giles had gotten the wrong description of her. Suddenly, this wasn't making any sense to Faith at all. Shit, maybe it wasn't even her.

"You're Emma?" Faith finally asked.

"That would be me," she said. "Faith and Buffy. I've heard a lot about you both."

"You have?" Buffy asked.

"Not really," Emma said, smiling. "Just said that to try and break the 'who the hell are you' tension that was starting to build."

Faith was going to like this girl.

"We were under the impression that you were…shy?" Faith asked. "What was that all about? I've met shy, and you ain't it."

"Faith!" Buffy exclaimed.

"Not a big deal," Emma said. "Honestly, I was shy, once upon a time. Then one day, WHAM! I felt great. Best I ever felt in my life. I was strong and fast and I just felt different all over the place. Started getting all confident and stuff. The confidence did falter momentarily when I found myself being stalked by some creepy looking guy. Or what I thought was a creepy looking guy until the dirtbag tried to bite me." She looked at Buffy and Faith. "He tried to _bite_ me."

Faith tried not to smile, but it didn't work. Buffy wasn't having much luck either from what Faith could tell.

"So what did you do?" Buffy finally asked.

Emma walked past them into the living room and sat down. Buffy and Faith exchanged glances and followed her. Buffy settled into a burgundy wingback chair and Faith leaned against the wall.

"That's the funny part. I'm not sure. I pushed him away from me and he, like, _flew_. He didn't fall, he flew. I was expecting him just to stumble back a couple steps. That was kind of neat. Smashed right against a tree. But then he was up and coming back towards me. I don't know how to fight. Never even took a stupid self-defense class, but I knew what to do."

"How?" Faith asked.

"Huge vampire fan. The old shy thing led to lots of reading. Anne Rice was my total favorite; until she freaked out and started writing stories that made absolutely no sense to me whatsoever. You ever read any of her stuff? Anyway, books, movies, you name it, if there was a vampire involved, I was there." Emma paused and looked around. "Nice house. Anyway, once he tried to bite me, I just knew he was a vampire. I knew it. Of course I thought I knew it because of all those books I read, but now I know better."

"You staked him?" Buffy asked.

"Damn straight I did," she said, beaming. "Tree branch, a little one. It was a feeling I couldn't believe." Emma stopped talking, looking uncomfortable for the first time since she got there. "I guess I can tell you two, right? Being slayers and all? Kinda like a sisterhood now, right?"

"You can tell us anything," Buffy said.

"I missed the first time. Not the vampire, the heart. I had this stick in my hand and I jammed it into his chest. It was wild; I'd never stabbed anything before. You don't forget that feeling."

Faith's gaze shifted to Buffy as Emma was talking. The stabbing thing, a little to close to home, but B didn't seem not to notice, giving Emma her rapt attention.

"And then he looked at me, right in the eye," Emma continued. "It's like we were both waiting for him to turn to dust and then he didn't. Talk about panic. I figured I was dead for sure. Then I pulled out the stick and slammed it into his chest again. It felt the same." Emma stopped talking and started mimicking the staking with her right hand, her expression going back to that place and time. "It's hard to explain. It's like I went to push it in and it wouldn't go at first. Just a little resistance and then butter, it was in. I felt it go. And I knew I had him this time. Then poof, he was gone. Most amazing thing I've ever felt in my life."

"Welcome to the wonderful world of slayage," Faith said.

"So you guys have stories of your first time too?"

Faith arched her eyebrow and then smiled wickedly, a hundred remarks flashing through her mind.

"Faith…"

Leave it to B to put the kibosh on her fun.

"Anyway," Emma said, the exchange between Faith and Buffy going unnoticed, "what is it with this house? Looks like my grandma's used to."

Faith watched as she walked over to an end table, and picked up something. "Oh my god, she had this same bowl."

"Wait until you see the kitchen," Faith said.

"And the bathrooms upstairs," Buffy added.

"I can hardly wait," she said, smiling. "So, what's going on? Mr. Giles said I should be here at 2:00 to give, how did he say it," her voice deepened, "'an overview of the areas that have the potential for the most vampire activity.'I like the way he talks. Makes him sound really smart."

Faith looked at Buffy; she wasn't sure what they should do.

"He is really smart, but he isn't here at the moment. He had some errands to run. Why don't we wait until he gets back? I'm sure he'll want to hear about it," Buffy said.

"I guess that's okay," Emma said. "It's all kinda weird, though. I've been by myself for so long. Never told anyone what I was doing, figured they wouldn't believe me. Now I have three other people…"

"Five," Faith said.

"Five?"

"Yep, Xander and Willow. Willow's a witch. They're with Giles."

Faith watched as Emma's eyes went as wide as the yellow saucers in the kitchen.

"A witch? Like she can cast spells and stuff? You're kidding, right?"

"Nope, she's not," Buffy said.

"No way! I like witches almost as much as I like vampires. Anne Rice had that entire witch series too. If I wasn't reading about vampires, I was reading about witches. So do you guys like have sex all the time?" she asked.

"No!" Buffy said, rather too quickly.

"Speak for yourself, B," Faith said, laughing.

XXXXX


	3. Chapter 3

As they sat in the kitchen talking, Faith's first reaction to Emma was one of surprise. Surprise that she didn't have any issues talking to her and Buffy about all the weirdness she had seen over the last year. But then again, not like she had anyone else to talk to before today.

Emma told them that she wasn't an only child; she had an older brother off somewhere 'finding himself'. Both of her parents were the career type and worked all sorts of weird hours. Emma spent a lot of time alone and that's when she usually read. If there was a book about anything supernatural, there was a good chance that Emma had read it.

As she talked, Faith found that what Emma knew about vampires was mixed with both fact and what some author had made up. She would need to mention that to Giles. The difference between what was true and what wasn't could save her life one day.

Faith's thoughts immediately went to research as Emma talked about all the reading she had done. Emma would eat that research shit up. Good thing too. Research and Faith didn't go hand in hand and having someone there to relieve some of the burden was never a bad thing. Not that there'd been much research lately, but still, it could happen.

Emma was only 19. Faith had been wrong about her age. Faith needed to remember to ask Giles what happened to potentials that never got called. Could there be a slayer out there somewhere who was in her 30's? In her 40's? Faith smiled to herself as she imagined an old woman waking up one morning feeling better than she had in years.

She was just about to say as much when she heard a commotion coming from the living room. "Looks like they're back," Faith said.

"It matches, Xander," Giles said, as he hung his coat on the hook just inside the front door. "They're identical. You cannot tell one from the other."

"He's right, Xander," Willow said. "You look like you used to do. Don't worry, no one will notice."

"So, I got my uber-attractive studly look back, huh?" he said, with a small grin.

"Damn straight, you do," Faith said, joining them in the living room. "Look at you. Looks good. And you know I don't just say shit to hear myself talk."

Faith couldn't believe he had gone through almost all the preliminary surgery in Italy, he even got the damn mold made, and once he found out that it was done, and that his new eye was ready, he refused to go and get it. When Giles had found out, he tried to contact Xander, but he'd already high tailed it to Africa. Faith figured Giles' daddy complex had come out and he was trying to help, but Xander had been stubborn as hell and kept saying that he'd take care of it later. Of course, Faith knew why now. She highly doubted anyone else really knew. Willow, maybe, but Faith couldn't be sure.

Giles finally convinced Xander that it would be the thing to do before they left for Sunnydale and the entire Master mess. Xander told Giles that he'd take care of it when they got back.

Looks like the watcher kept him to it, and thankfully, Xander kept his word.

"Xander, it looks great!" Buffy said. "Guess I don't need to ask how it went."

"Splendidly," Giles said.

"I'm not sure what everyone is talking about," Emma said. "But you look fine to me." She turned to Faith. "What are we talking about?"

Faith wasn't sure if she should tell her. It was Xander's eye, not hers. "Ask him," she finally said.

"You must be Emma," Giles said, extending his hand and walking towards her. "I'm Rupert Giles, Buffy and Faith's watcher, and now yours too. Pleasure to meet you."

"You're the one I talked to on the phone," she said, accepting his hand. "You look different than I thought you would. Older."

"Well, how nice," Giles stammered briefly and then recovered. "Did all go well with the introductions?"

"Yep, went really well," Emma said. "They made me feel like I fit right in. Weird, feels like I've known them longer than just today."

"She's right." Buffy said.

"And the shy thing," Faith began. "Not an issue. You got the queen of the supernatural here. Research is going to be a breeze for her."

"Research?" Emma asked.

"Don't ask," Xander said. "I'm Xander, by the way." He walked up to her and shook her hand.

"And I'm Willow," she said, smiling.

"Oh! You're the witch," Emma said.

"Um, yeah, I'm a witch," Willow said, surprised. "I'm _a _witch not a witch! I'm a witch who isn't witchy."

"Faith and Buffy were just telling me about all of you. It's, I mean, wow, great to meet you all," Emma gushed. "First the vampire slayer thing, then witches. This is too cool for words."

"Look at that," Xander said. "The naïveté of youth."

"She's nineteen, Xander," Buffy said.

"She's older than you were when you started and not like she's as young as some of the potentials were back in Sunnydale," Faith added.

"I was just saying…" Xander began.

"Whatever, Sinbad," Faith added, turning and heading back towards the kitchen.

"Faith," Xander followed her. "I already told you, Sinbad a sailor, not a pirate and he has both his eyes."

"So do you." She winked at him.

"Ahh, you set me up."

"And I didn't even know you were getting the new eye. How good am I?"

Buffy, Emma and Giles came into the kitchen on Faith's last comment.

"Faith, what did I say earlier?" Giles said.

She rolled her eyes. "It's not all about that, Giles. Not even talking about that."

"About what?" Emma asked.

"Faith's preoccupation with sex," Xander supplied.

"I am not preoccupied with sex," Faith huffed. "I just like it a lot. And ever since I became a slayer, I like it a lot more often."

"Really?" Emma's saucer eyes were back.

"Faith…" Giles cautioned.

"Yo, you're the one who brought this up," Faith said.

"I did not bring this up," Giles said. "I just believe it is inappropriate to be constantly speaking of one's sex life in front of others. Especially others we've just met."

"Giles," Buffy said. "Losing battle."

Faith watched as Giles looked at Buffy and then nodded his head in agreement. "Emma," Giles began, "did you bring the documents I asked for?"

"If you mean the maps, yep, got 'em right here. Be back in a sec."

Once Emma left the room, Willow, Giles, Xander, Buffy and Faith all began talking at once.

"Who told her I was a witch?"

"Can we please refrain from all the sexual innuendos for at least one day?"

"Does she know I have a glass eye?"

"Faith told her you were a witch."

"Maybe I did, but I didn't tell her about Sinbad."

Emma strolled back into the kitchen, her arms full of maps, all bickering stopped.

"What?" she asked. "Did I miss something?"

A chorus of 'No's' immediately followed.

XXXXX

Faith tossed the yellow placemats haphazardly onto the counter next to the yellow microwave and Giles spread the maps out over the kitchen table.

"Please begin, Emma," he said.

"Okay, thanks." Emma stood, chewing on her bottom lip, checking out the maps that Giles had spread out. After rearranging a few, she started talking.

"Well," she began. "This is Metro, the airport you flew in to. The airport's not actually in Detroit, it's in Romulus. A lot of places are referred to as _Detroit_, but they're not really Detroit. It could be any suburb outside the city. The city itself is, well, I don't particularly care to be down there alone at night and I'm a slayer. But parts of it have been improved and there is a night life that doesn't involve being mugged or raped. The plan is to make it like a lot of other downtowns. But still, if you want something to do, you can go downtown and usually find something."

"Like what?" Faith asked.

"There's Greektown and Mexicantown. Good food, good places to eat. They have a few casinos now, so if you like to gamble those are there. They have dance clubs and comedy clubs, stuff like your normal big cities have, just not as much. They have a new ballpark that I heard is pretty nice. Never been there myself, but it's not like it's the season for that. And hockey, the normal city stuff."

"What about Motown? Where is that at?" Buffy asked.

Emma smiled. "Well, it's not a town exactly. At least I don't think it is. It's a museum I guess, a really small one. A recording studio too, I believe. Not sure if they use it still or if it's just part of a tour. Motown, from what I can tell is more of a sound, a reputation, not an actual town."

Faith glanced at B, whose expression showed a wide-eyed _I didn't know_ look.

"And right now, you're not actually in Detroit. You would be in a suburb of it. You wouldn't want to live there anyway. Windsor is nice. Total opposite of this place just across the water. It's in Canada, a different country and everything. You go there; you can walk alone at night and not worry about anything. Like some magical barrier separates the two or something.

"Not as unlikely as you think," Xander quipped.

Emma's eyes grew big. "I hadn't thought of that! It would explain a lot. Oh, and they have clubs, and the theatres and their own casinos. Cleaner--God is it cleaner. But don't try to go there if you don't have your birth certificate. Need to make sure you're not a terrorist or something.

"Where do you live?" Xander asked, walking to the refrigerator and grabbing a soda.

"About twenty miles north of here."

"And where is here exactly?" Buffy asked, snatching the can of soda out of Xander's hand with a smile. Xander proceeded to go back to the refrigerator and grab another one.

"I'll take one of those too, please," Emma said. "You're about twenty-five miles out. You're a little more west of Detroit then I am."

"So where do we start?" Giles asked. "Downtown?"

Emma sighed. "Yep. If you want to see any vampires, that's where they'll be." She popped the lid on the soda Xander handed her. "Thanks," she said, taking a big sip.

"Then we get our supplies and load up the van," Giles said.

"I have my own car," Emma volunteered. "All of us won't fit in it, but I could drive too."

"I would prefer we all stay together right now, Emma," Giles said. "Until we know what we're up against, there is most definitely safety in numbers."

"Okay, just putting it out there."

"Yo, Giles, hate to break up the party, but B and I are tapped out. Don't have anything. Couldn't bring any stakes with us in our carry-on, you know?" Faith said. "I have stuff in my car, but it's not here yet."

"I assumed as much," Giles said. "This way, please."

They all followed Giles into the basement, where he led them to a huge crate that was hidden under the stairs.

"The previous watcher was obviously prepared in case he was needed," Giles said, opening the crate that held more weapons then Faith had seen in a while.

"Damn!" Faith said.

"I think there's more in that crate then you had in your chest back home, Buffy," Willow said.

"Damn fine workmanship that was," Xander said, obviously reminiscing about something.

"Buffy's chest?" Faith asked, smirking.

"Since we don't know what we're dealing with, exactly," Giles said, apparently choosing to ignore Faith's latest comment. "I believe we should keep to the smaller weapons. With our larger number, the smaller weapons should not be a problem. We're new to this hellmouth. In Sunnydale, you could chance walking down the street with a sword in your hand. That may not be the case here."

"Giles?" Buffy asked.

"Yes," he said, moving out of the way so the others could have access to the crate.

"Faith and I were talking earlier, and I guess there's certain tools a slayer needs when working in the cold."

"Such as?" he asked, taking his own stake and putting it in his jacket pocket.

"Boots, stylin' black leather coat, gloves," Faith said. "Did I mention totally kickin' boots?"

"We will be going shopping tomorrow. The change in weather has been taken into consideration," Giles said with a smile. "Not to worry, ladies. The council may be gone, but their philosophy, or some of it, lives on."

"The mall," Buffy said. "We need to go to the mall. We've survived the destruction of The Hellmouth not once, but twice, if that doesn't scream shopping, nothing does."

"The mall?" Willow asked. "Yes! The mall. We never did get our shopping in, did we?"

"God help us," Xander said, shaking his head and securing his own weapons.

"I know some good ones," Emma said. "I'm sure we can find just what you'll need. Being your humble tour guide and all, that's the least I can do."

"We are _so_ out numbered," Xander said, looking at Giles.

"I believe you may be correct," Giles said, admitting defeat.

XXXXX

Taking I-96, they made it downtown in less than a half an hour. Emma directed Giles to a parking structure adjacent to one of the casinos. During the weekend, the parking structures were open to the public and parking was free.

"The casinos are pretty popular," Emma said, as they all got out of the van. "Usually people just park and use the passageway straight into the casino. Others park and head out to the coffee shops, bars, and restaurants that are open later. Parking around here is horrible. So instead of driving around looking for a place to park, they drop their cars off here and walk."

"Can I ask you a question?" Buffy said.

"Shoot," Emma replied.

"You live kinda far away from here, why did you come down here at all?"

"Sounds like a simple enough question, but it's really not." Emma stopped walking and turned to face Buffy. "My parents were… are never home. There was this big battle about me going to college. I didn't want to. They basically ignored me for the first seventeen years of my life. Why should I do something just because they wanted me to? We fought about it for almost two years. They couldn't physically make me go, so I didn't. Then this whole slayer thing kicked in. That vamp, the first one I staked, was down here. I got pissed off one night, climbed in my car and just started driving. I wound up downtown and did what everyone else does, parked my car and started walking. Wanted something to drink and I passed a coffee shop that was open on my way into town. Between here and there…"

"You met the creepy guy who turned out to be a vamp." Faith finished for her.

"In a nutshell, yep. So the nights my folks aren't home, which seems to be almost every night, I climb in my car and come down here," she said.

"And if they're home?" Faith asked.

"If they're home, I just wait until they're asleep. They're so dead to the world when the finally get in, it's not hard to do."

"It is possible that you didn't just happen to end up down here, Emma," Giles said. "It could be that the slayer in you knew you'd find the most activity here, and instinct guided you. Being new, you may not have recognized it. Comments have been made that this isn't a place to come after dark, especially alone."

"He's got a point," Faith said. "Ever been down here before that? Alone even?"

"A few times with my folks for baseball games and stuff when I was a kid, but that's about it. Never would've even considered coming down here by myself at night. That's just crazy."

"Welcome to the wonderful world of slayer vibes," Faith said, giving Emma a light push.

"If this is anything like Sunnydale," Buffy said, as they all began walking again. "Her vibes will be on overload. There's gotta be demon hotspots. Feels weird to be starting all over again. No matter what was going on, we always knew where to go. I have no clue here. I don't like that feeling. It's strange and kinda icky… and I think I kinda miss Willy."

"I'm sure they will be most helpful," Giles said, as they made their way down to the main floor of the parking structure and out onto the street. "All of your slayer attributes will be. And if you recall, Buffy, when you first arrived in Sunnydale, you didn't know much, either."

"But Angel did," Buffy said. "In his way, he showed me the ropes, where to go, what to do." Buffy stopped and looked around. "Not seeing an Angel here anywhere."

"Angel?" Emma asked.

"Vampire with a soul," Xander said. "Both him and Spike. Two vampires that have souls. Makes them _good_ vampires."

"Good vampires? Vampires don't have souls, do they?" Emma said. "Never stopped to think about it."

"No, they do not, Emma. The demon takes control and the soul typically leaves the body. Well, it does leave the body, but in the cases of Angel and Spike, circumstances arose that restored their souls to them. Do not be fooled. They are exceptions, and I am highly doubtful that we will run into anything like that here," Giles said. "It is most unlikely that you will ever come in contact with a souled vampire."

"And if you do," Xander said, "don't date them."

Emma snorted. "Who would date a vampire? That's the dumbest thing I ever heard."

Willow and Giles averted their eyes from Emma, and Faith caught Xander laughing quietly under his breath.

Faith glanced at Buffy, who had stopped to examine something really interesting on her sleeve. Ha! Subtle, B. She might as well be wearing a big old sandwich board about how she had knocked boots with not one, but two vampires. Emma would have a field day with that one. But since Faith ventured into that territory once herself, she wasn't bringing it up.

"That's the second time you've done that to me," Emma said. "All this inside joke stuff. One day…" her voice trailed off.

Emma led them out of the parking structure. They moved past the coffee shop, the one she had planned on stopping at one night last year. Emma kept walking, leading them further and further downtown.

"Beginning to wonder if there's a point to this," Faith said. "We've been walking, for what? A half an hour? And I haven't seen anything. Are we sure Detroit's on a hellmouth?"

"Not sure about the hellmouth part, but I know there are vampires down here. Just not sure where they are right now," Emma said, the confusion spreading across her face.

"Maybe they heard we're here," Xander said. "Three slayers on one hellmouth bound to make any vamp think twice before messing with…Ugh…"

"Xander!" Buffy said. "Are you okay?"

"Where'd that hole come from?" He said, regaining his balance. "Why are there holes in the middle of the street?"

"Potholes," Emma said. "Welcome to Michigan."

"Need I say more?" Faith asked. "Kept telling you people, but no one would listen to me."

"Telling them what?" Emma asked.

"Winter sucks."

"She's right. It pretty much does." Emma confirmed. "I've never been to California. Must've been nice there."

"Faith's from Boston," Willow said.

"Never been there, either."

Buffy stopped walking. "Faith's right. We've been out here for almost an hour and we haven't seen anything."

"Maybe there's too many of us," Willow said. "Maybe the vampires here know there's safety in numbers. We should split up or something. There are six of us. I say we split into groups of two. Each group goes in a different direction and we see what we can find."

"We have three slayers. It's only logical to have one slayer per group," Giles said. "Buffy, you go with Willow. Xander can accompany Faith. Emma and I will team up." He checked his watch. "We'll meet back here in exactly one hour. Questions?"

"No offense, Giles, but Emma is a pretty new slayer. Are you sure she shouldn't go with me or B?" Faith asked. "We haven't seen her fight. You said yourself she hasn't really been trained. I'm just saying…"

"Giles is right, Faith," Buffy said. "She hasn't had actual training, but she's been doing this for over a year. I think going with a watcher is a good idea."

"Didn't think of it that way," Faith said, shrugging. "Sounds like a plan to me."

"Okay, starting to feel like I'm not here," Emma said.

"You'll get used to it," Xander said.

"Looks like you and me, Will," Buffy said, putting her arm around her best friend and they headed off.

"Emma," Giles asked, "which way?"

Emma indicated to her left. "That'll work. I know there are some vamps down there. At least there usually are."

Faith watched as Buffy, Willow, Giles, and Emma all disappeared into the shadows of downtown Detroit. There weren't as many people out as Faith would've thought. But she supposed that the group of them had wandered far enough off the main path for that to be so. Guess Detroit had a rep for a reason.

"Come on, Sinbad,' Faith said. "We'll go this way. Nice and dark and a few alleys that I can see."

"Wonderful," Xander said. "And Faith? About the Sinbad…"

XXXXX


	4. Chapter 4

Faith must've been feeling charitable or something. She agreed that she wouldn't call Xander 'Sinbad' anymore. What was the big deal anyway? She grinned. She'd just come up with something new soon enough.

"What canary did you eat?" Xander asked. "From what I see, there's nothing much to smile about around this place."

He had her there. Talk about gloom. They hadn't come across any vampires in this part of town so far, but they had seen their fair share of the homeless, drug dealers, and prostitutes.

"God," Faith said. "Could this place be any more depressing?"

"We're not in the best part of town," Xander noted, casually glancing around.

"Is there a best part of town?"

"I guess. From what Emma said, anyway." Xander shrugged his shoulders. "Just remind me to never come down here by myself."

"Hey, Xander."

"What?"

"Don't ever come down here by yourself," Faith said, grinning mischievously.

"Oh, thanks for that."

"Anytime." Faith's brows creased together in thought. "You know what sucks?"

"What?"

"Trying hard in not getting lost because everything looks the same," she said.

"The same?"

Faith pointed to the decrepit building they had just passed. If it was just one building, okay, no big. But the block they had turned down, the entire street looked that way. One building after another was nothing more than a burnt out, broken down, crumbling mess. It looked like a war zone to Faith, and she wasn't thinking about a vamp or demon war zone, she was thinking more along the lines of a full-blown military war…or a Godzilla rampage.

Shit, she was hanging out with Xander too much.

"How can they let it get so bad?" Xander asked, walking a little faster to keep up with Faith.

Faith noticed he was breathing hard, so she slowed down. "Who knows? Corruption. Lack of funds. Lack of caring. I'll tell you what, I've been around, and this ranks up there as one of the worst places I've ever seen."

"I'd think that Boston would have its share of areas like this too," Xander said.

"Yeah, it had its share too," she said, quickening her pace.

"Jeez. Slow down!" he said, rushing to keep up with her. "I don't mind a good run now and then, but enough of the constant speedy walking. Wait! It's because I brought up Boston, isn't it?"

"Don't be stupid."

"You two lost?" Someone stepped out from an alley they had just passed.

Faith turned. No game face, she thought as she studied him. Long dark coat, hands in pockets, knitted hat. That didn't mean much. Vamps acted and dressed differently in every city she'd been to. This would be her first Detroit vamp, if he indeed turned out to be one.

"Can't say we are," she said, moving and standing between him and Xander.

He moved a little closer to them. "Kind of late to be out, isn't it? Especially in this part of time. It's not normal."

Faith was beginning to think that maybe her slayer-vibe was broken. Then she smiled. It was a tad delayed, but there it was, her vamp-tingle. "What? Something wrong with taking a walk?" Faith laughed. "And what would _you_ know about normal?"

"You two white breads aren't from around here, are you?"

"White breads?" Faith laughed. "Okay, that's old. How old? Not quite sure. Come on; you can tell me how old. Can't you?" Faith asked, glancing at Xander and then turning back to stare once again at the vamp.

They were so predictable. Once Faith had made him, his game face was on.

"Can I ask you one thing? Have you ever heard the expression 'Vampire Slayer'? Just curious," she asked, rolling her shoulders and firming her grip on the stake in her coat pocket.

The vampire's confidence faltered for a moment. His eyes darted from side to side, looking for a way to escape.

They always did that too.

"I was thinking of letting you go with a message," Faith began. She didn't need to be standing as close to Xander as she was to hear his sudden intake of breath. "You know, tell all your homies that Detroit now has three slayers on their turf. But then again, I'd be shirking my responsibility of making sure you didn't hurt anyone, so I guess I'll be going with my normal Plan A."

"Plan A?" the vampire asked.

"Dusting you."

XXXXX

Faith wiped the dust from her jacket and shook out her gloves. She could feel it on her face too. A nice, cold wind gust had come whipping up just as she was staking him. She really hated vamp dust. It got everywhere...almost.

"Homies?" Xander asked, as they began walking again.

"What?" Faith asked, sliding her gloves back on and putting her stake back in her pocket.

"Homies?" he repeated.

"Nothing else came to mind."

"Boys? Crew?"

Was Xander actually challenging her on her slayer quippiness? Faith glared at him.

"What was I saying? Homies is just fine," Xander said.

That was better. Faith put her arm around his shoulders and pulled him to her. "See, that's why we get along so well. You just get me!"

Xander laughed, but Faith could feel his unease. His body had immediately tensed up as she had pulled him to her. Yeah, she touched him, so frickin' what? It wasn't like she was hitting on him or something.

XXXXX

"So it went well, then?" Giles asked as they all piled into the van.

"If 'well' means one vamp," Faith said, taking her now familiar position in the back. "That's all we saw. One."

"We didn't have much better luck," Buffy added. "Will and I only came across two ourselves and some… um, people that were out."

Faith laughed. "I can guess what kind of people, B."

"Warned you guys," Emma said, sitting down next to Faith. "You were heading down into the really bad parts of the city. What did you expect?"

"Someone seems a little cranky," Xander said.

Emma blushed. "Sorry. Mr. Giles and I didn't find any. Faith got one. Buffy got two. Me, the hometown girl, didn't get any."

"Are different hellmouths, well, different?" Buffy asked.

"Contrary to popular belief," Giles said. "This is only my second hellmouth. There were some references in the Watcher tomes…"

"Oh, like they'll do us any good now," Faith snapped.

"The ones that were spared have some information contained in them, but definitely not to the detail that we would require. Why do you ask, Buffy?"

"Well, in Sunnydale we were practically tripping over them. Here, we pretty much have to hunt for them. Just seems kinda weird."

"Weird usually means that something bad is going to happen," Willow said. "Let's not say 'weird,' let's say 'different.' Yes, different. Weird usually means apocalypses and hell-on-earth and stuff. Different means, 'Hey, look, it's different', but not necessarily bad."

"What's with all the doom?" Xander asked.

Willow shrugged. "Not all doomy. It's only my second hellmouth too. Guess I just expected it to be…Sunnydale."

"Hello, expert on board," Faith said. "Want to know what's normal? Askin' the person who has been here for a year might help."

"As a matter of fact, I did," Giles said. "Emma, would you care to share with the others what you told me?"

"Not like there's much to tell. I would get out three, maybe four nights a week. Come out around midnight. Stay out until 3:00 or 4:00. On those nights, I might see two vampires, at least that's the way it's been over the last couple of months. Before that there seemed to be more. But I really wasn't counting or anything."

"Whoa," Faith said. "Hold me back. All the increased demon activity? This place doesn't know what increased demon activity is. Are you sure your sources didn't say, 'decreased demon activity'?"

"My sources said…"

"Giles, who exactly are your sources? Not like the Watcher's Council is telling you what to do anymore." Faith could physically feel herself launching into attack mode and she wasn't sure why.

Giles shifted uncomfortably in the driver's seat. Clearing his throat, he said quietly, "It was an anonymous tip. A message left at the villa in Italy."

"An anonymous tip?" Buffy asked. "As in, 'Hey there's a bunch of baddies in Detroit; you should go check them out. And by the way, I'm not telling you who I am,' kind of tip?"

"Basically, yes."

"And we just ran here?" Faith asked, shocked. "No extra checking or anything?"

"What do you think we're doing now, Faith?" Giles asked, irritation creeping into his voice.

"Not much from what I can tell," Faith mumbled.

"Detroit is on a hellmouth," Giles continued, "and we need slayers here. When I received the message that something could be happening, I took it as a sign that it was time for us to move on, to reestablish our presence on _this_ hellmouth. Truth be told, we would have come here even if I hadn't gotten the message."

"Enough," Buffy said. "We're here, so let's just make the best of it. I'm thinking not a lot of vamps, a good thing."

"They gotta be somewhere, B," Faith replied. "If not here, then where? It's a hellmouth, for God's sake."

XXXXX

Faith wasn't surprised that they were all hungry by the time they got back to the house. Giles had decided that it was too late to stop somewhere, so he figured they'd have to make do with what they had in the kitchen.

"We have hot dogs," Xander said, grabbing a couple of packages out of the freezer.

"Ooh," Willow said. "There's mustard and ketchup and relish. We could have dogs with all the fixin's."

"They taste better barbequed," Faith said, grabbing a jar of pickles out of the cupboard, opening it and jamming one into her mouth.

"Not exactly the barbequing kind of weather here," Buffy said.

"And yet another reminder," Faith grumbled, shoving another pickle into her mouth.

"I found some chips," Emma exclaimed. "Sour cream and onion. Those are pretty much my favorites."

"I do believe we will need to do some shopping for food items," Giles said. "It'll be Sunnydale all over again."

"But no pending apocalypse," Buffy quipped.

"Not yet anyway," Faith said, putting the lid back on the pickles. "Chips. Share."

"If Dawn were here, she and Andrew would be fighting over those chips," Xander said. "Too bad there isn't any chip dip. We could double our onion loving chip-dippy-breath."

"Don't think that will be a problem in the foreseeable future," Giles said, changing the subject.

"Chip-dippy-breath?"

Giles just looked at Xander. "I was thinking that perhaps we should not send for the others to join us just yet."

"Others?" Emma asked quietly.

"Our original plan was to bring more slayers to Detroit. That in addition to a few people who are awaiting our word overseas," Giles said. "Since we do not know what is going on exactly, it would probably be in everyone's best interest if we postponed, barring any objections that is."

"Dawn?" Buffy asked.

"Kennedy?" Willow asked at almost the same time.

"No Andrew?" Xander asked, sounding more than a little pleased.

"If agreed, they would not be immediately joining us," Giles said.

"It's probably for the best. At least until we find out what's going on," Buffy said. "I miss Dawn, but it probably is a good idea."

"Who are all these people?" Emma asked.

"You had to ask," Faith said, swinging herself up and sitting on the counter.

"Emma, you might as well sit down," Xander said pulling out a chair for her. "This could take awhile."

Later, after each one, aside from Faith, had given Emma a brief look back over their past, Emma declared, "My life is SO boring." She put her hands up in surrender. "Forget it! I can't take anymore. Do any of you people have stories that don't involve sisters that are keys, vampires that have gypsy curses, geeks who try to end the world and people you know who died horribly?"

"I was in jail," Faith said, shrugging.

"For what?"

"Killing someone."

Emma just stared at her.

"It's a long story. And if you ask me, compared to all of this," Faith said, jumping off the counter, "jail ain't nothing."


	5. Chapter 5

No way in hell Faith was going to be the last one up again. Her internal alarm knew how serious she was, because she woke up at exactly 4:53 am with the remnants of a dream she couldn't quite recall drifting away.

She grabbed a set of clean clothes and made her way to the big ole flowery bathroom with matching curtains, beating Buffy to it.

"God," she said, turning on the light. "This is worse than the kitchen." Everywhere she looked was blue; blue toilet, blue sink, blue bathtub, blue rugs. What was it with this woman and her decorating obsession?

Faith showered quickly, dried off with a blue towel, and threw on her clothes, which thankfully, were not blue. Satisfied with her appearance, she quietly went downstairs, coffee sounding even better this early in the day.

"Faith."

"Shit," she said, taking a step back. "Do you ever sleep?"

Giles smiled as he took another sip of coffee. "Contrary to popular belief, I have been known to do just that, on occasion."

"I'd like to know when," she mumbled, reaching for a cup and pouring some coffee.

"The question remaining would be why are you up so early?"

Seemed like an easy enough question to answer, so why wasn't it? Faith didn't want to be the last one up again because…?

She hadn't consciously thought about the why. Well, she knew she didn't want Giles thinking she was a slacker. Plus, the way everyone had looked at her yesterday, she might as well have walked into the kitchen naked…not that being naked is all bad, in the right circumstances.

Those reasons and others flashed through Faith's head.

Deep down, Faith knew what it really was, what it all boiled down to. She wanted Giles to be proud of her. Wanted him to know that she was serious about this now and she had to prove it to him.

Of course, what came out her mouth was entirely different. "Couldn't sleep," she said, shrugging and plopping down in a Tweety Bird covered chair.

Faith watched as Giles smiled an alarmingly all-knowing smile. It ticked her off for some reason.

"I see," he finally said.

"I couldn't sleep," she repeated. Faith figured it was a good time for a change of subject. "Hey, I've been meaning to ask you something."

"Yes?"

"Okay, I was thinking, we have all these potentials all over the world. From what I can figure, they're all different ages. Like a little girl to an old lady, right? So a potential wasn't called, let's say in the fifties or something. Isn't there a chance there's a seventy year old slayer out there someplace?"

Shock wouldn't describe the expression on Giles' face.

"What on earth made you think that?" he asked.

Faith shrugged. "Willow's supposedly tapped into all these new slayers, just started me thinking. What if she tapped into some grandma who's wondering why she can hold her grandkids a little longer then she used to? Or better yet, some grandma that has this huge grandkid that always wants to be picked up, but she wasn't strong enough to do it and now she's like heaving him all over the place."

Giles thought for a moment. "I cannot be sure of the exact age, but after a certain period of time, it's believed that the potential status expires. There were rumors floating around the Council for years about what the actual age was, but it was never officially confirmed, at least to me."

"What about the girls that had Watchers? I know some did and some didn't. What about the ones that had Watchers and never got called?"

"They would no longer continue the Watcher/Slayer relationship that had been established in the Potential's youth."

"That would be kind of a bummer," Faith said. "Like waiting for Christmas for days, and on Christmas morning someone saying, 'Never mind, we're not doing Christmas anymore.'"

"During a Potential's training it is established that she can be called at any time. It is also reinforced that she may not be called at all. So you can probably rest easily, Faith. We most likely do not have a supercharged grandmother out there anywhere," Giles said, smiling.

"What's with all the noise?"

Faith was surprised to see Emma coming in from the living room, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes and stretching.

"I thought you went home," Faith said.

"Mr. Giles said it was too late and I could sleep on the couch if I wanted to. And I wanted to."

"Whatever works for you," Faith said, turning her attention to Giles. "There's got to be a 24 hour place around here. Why don't we go and get stuff for breakfast? Bagels with all different flavors of cream cheese and some real coffee."

Faith wasn't sure, but it sounded like Giles might be choking on his tea. "What?" she asked, shrugging. "Not like we'll be missed or anything. Besides, I still have some cash. I'll even buy."

"I'll come with you and I can even drive," Emma said, sounding more than fully awake all of a sudden.

"Well, you two can go and I'll wait for the others. We do need to go," Giles sighed heavily, "to the mall today."

"It's going to be a good day," Faith said. "Come on Pipsqueak, let's go get some decent food."

XXXXX

They were going to the mall.

Faith made sure she had extra cash, just in case, before heading back downstairs. She found everyone was already out of the house and loading into the van. Giles was waiting for her in the living room.

"Your car's here," he said.

"It is?" she asked, surprised.

"They must have delivered it sometime during breakfast," Giles said, reaching into his pocket and handing Faith her keys. "I found these in the mailbox," he said, a small smile appearing his lips.

"The box on the porch." She slowly returned his smile. Faith snatched the keys, holding them up and said, "Can I check it out before we take off?"

"By all means," Giles said, walking to the front door and opening it for her.

Faith couldn't have been happier. Full tank of gas, sparkling clean, and everything was where she left it. Too bad it was family day out, she thought. The weather was pretty mild and she was more then ready to go out on her own.

She grabbed her weapons and extra cash, not wanting to chance putting it back where she found it. Faith took it with her and climbed into the van where everyone else was waiting for her.

"That's your car?" Emma asked. "Sweet. Almost as nice as mine," she said, smiling.

"Where's yours?" Xander asked.

Emma pointed down the street.

"Is that a Porsche?" Xander asked.

"Yep," Emma said, smiling proudly. "My folks may suck as parents, but they bribe well."

"Damn, and all I got is this lousy t-shirt," Xander said, sullenly. "I'm the guy. The guy is supposed to have the cool car."

"Hate to break it to you, Xander, but you don't even have a car, cool or otherwise," Willow said, placing her hand on his arm.

"Oh, thanks for that, Will. I feel so much better now."

"Do you see what I'm driving?" Giles said. "Once upon a time, I was a highly respected Watcher with a rather nice little sports car, and now I'm a typical suburban father, driving his charges around in a mini-van."

Buffy laughed. "At least you people know how to drive."

"Who knows, B. Maybe one day I'll teach you how to drive the Viper. I'm sure you can handle a stick."

"Faith…"

Emma laughed. "I've only been around a couple of days, Mr. Giles, and even I can tell you're fighting a losing battle with that one."

"Told you she'd fit in just fine," Faith said, allowing herself to loosen up and enjoy just being with them all for the moment.

They shopped for the rest of the afternoon, and they all made out like bandits. Faith was pretty happy with her haul. She got her shit kickin' boots that were guaranteed not to fall off in the first snow bank she ran through while patrolling. She also got a tight-fitting coat with one of those linings that zip out, matching gloves, hat, and scarf. Not that she'd wear a scarf while patrolling, since it was a little too easy to be strangled if it fell into the wrong hands.

All in all, it turned out to be a good day.

On the way back to the house, Giles suggested they stop for a quick dinner of pizza and salad, which seemed to be the only thing the group of them could agree on eating without getting into a big fight. Emma was more than happy to join them, though it wasn't like she had a choice, with her car back at the house along with Faith's.

"So," Xander asked between bites of pepperoni and sausage, "what did your parents do to land you a Porsche?"

Emma blushed.

"Jeez, Squeak, can't be that bad, can it?" Faith asked, curious as hell.

"They didn't do anything… it was a, um, thing. A deal I made with them," Emma said, trying to sound casual, but failing miserably.

"It appears that this entire subject is making Emma extremely uncomfortable," Giles said. "Maybe we should just let it drop."

Why should she be any different? That was part of being in the _gang_, Faith thought. Everyone pushing everyone else beyond the point of being comfy.

"Thank you, Mr. Giles," Emma said, taking a huge sip of the soda that was sitting in front of her. "Are we patrolling tonight, Faith?"

Faith shrugged her shoulders. "Beats me."

"I don't see why you and Faith can't. Patrolling would be a good training exercise for you, with or without running into any vampires. The rest of us will be conducting some research. We need to determine why there isn't much happening around here of late.

"Why not?" Faith asked. "We have all of our required slaying tools at our disposal."

Giles glanced at Faith. "'Kickin' boots' included."

Faith smiled. So, he remembered that, huh? Faith was going to try and make a conscious effort not to be so hard on him. He was making the attempt, it was the least she could do.

"Hey," Buffy said. "I have new slaying active wear too. When do I get to try out mine?"

"In time, Buffy, in time. But first, we must do research."

"Since when have I been research girl?" Buffy mumbled, taking another bite of her pizza.

As soon as they got back to the house, Faith and Emma prepared for patrol. While Emma ran to her car to grab something, Faith waited in the living room. She couldn't help but overhear Buffy and Giles talking in the kitchen. She moved closer to the kitchen doorway when she heard her name come up in their conversation.

"Tell me again why I'm not going out on patrol?" Buffy asked.

"It appears that Emma has grown rather fond of Faith. I feel it would be a good training exercise for them both."

"Both?"

"Emma has been on her own for quite a while and I think it is good that she has found not only a friend, but another slayer with whom she feels comfortable. Faith has made a lot of progress, but she is still fiercely independent. I believe that having another to rely on her is just what she needs to help her adjust to her new way of life."

"I can see that," Buffy said. "But do I really need to research? Maybe I can just go patrol on my own."

Faith could hear the hope in her voice. Apparently Giles disagreed and not with words.

"Fine," Buffy conceded. "I'll help research."

"What are you doing?"

Faith jumped when she realized that Emma had come back into the house and now was standing directly behind her.

"Are we eavesdropping?" she asked.

"No," Faith said, brushing passed her and moving towards the front door. "I was waiting for you. Let's go."

XXXXX

As they began their patrol, Faith couldn't help but think about what Giles and Buffy had been talking about. Why had Squeak attached herself to Faith? And this was a good thing? Why? Going crazy because she had a shadow? Giles typically knew what he was doing, but Faith wasn't so sure this time.

As she and Emma rounded another corner, Faith decided that she should be focusing on what they were out there for. A training exercise. Slaying. One of the things she was best at.

"We come across a vamp and he's yours," Faith said. "You come out with me; I want to see what you got. Need to know if I got a partner or someone I need to baby-sit. Got it?"

"Yep," Emma said, distracted. "So is anything out here? I'm not feeling anything. You guys talk about all this feely stuff, and I just don't feel anything."

Faith focused to see if she could sense anything, there was nothing in the immediate area. Not a threat Faith could sense, so for now, it was all good.

"Think your spidey-sense is working about as well as mine. I'm not feeling much but achy feet at the moment," Faith said, stopping to loosen the ties on her boots. She hoped that was all it was. She'd be pissed if her new _kickin' boots_ turned out to be a major pain…literally. Patrolling with sore feet, well, that was pretty much a bitch.

"New boots hurt your feet?" Emma asked, stopping to look at Faith.

"Just a little. Hoping I just had the stupid things tied too tight," Faith said as she squatted down and began unlacing her other boot so she could loosen the tie on that one too.

"Faith!" Emma shouted.

"Wha…" Faith was tackled from behind before she could get anything more out. She tumbled forward along with whatever hit her and landed knees first on the hard cement, the impact shredding both knees of her new jeans, and leaving a few layers of her skin on the pavement in the process. "Shit!" she said, trying to regain her balance and fling off whatever was on her back.

"I'll help you," Emma cried.

Faith could hear the fear in the young slayer's voice.

"You're not supposed to hit someone when they're down, you idiot. Come after me! Come on, I'm over here, fang-face."

The pressure on Faith's back was relieved as the vamp stood. Yep, her tingle said it was a vamp - too bad it waited to tell her after the shithead landed on her full force. What was it with her senses lately? If they kept being so slow in the reacting, they might just as well stay the hell away.

Faith stood slowly, her knees burning so much she was finding it hard to stand up straight. She reached for her stake. The stake that was in the waistband of her jeans. The stake that wasn't there anymore. The stake that must've fallen out when she'd hit the ground.

Faith had only been half serious when she told Emma the next vamp was hers, now it was looking like she had no other choice.

Faith scanned the ground. It took her less than a minute to find the stake, its tip embedded in a snowbank. Faith snatched it up and took on a battle stance, but then relaxed as she watched Emma take on the demon.

No formal training? Screw that. Emma was holding her ground. Stake in her right hand, she was landing blow after blow on the vampire - spinning, twisting, jumping, kicking. Giles would be proud. The vamp was down and up so fast, Emma didn't have time to actually stake it. That didn't stop her though. Using the vampire's confidence against him, Emma feigned exhaustion. In the time it took the vampire to stop and gloat, Emma was behind him, staking him from the back, her smile becoming even more visible as the dust cleared.

"Damn, girl!" Faith declared. "Like you need help."

"That was okay?" Emma said, walking to Faith, then stopping and looking at Faith's knees. "Are you okay? That doesn't look so good."

"You did great," Faith said. "I'm fine, I'll heal. My jeans on the other hand…"

"Sorry about your jeans. He came out of nowhere."

"Good thing I bought more then one pair then, huh?" Faith said, winking.

"Yep!"

"What do you say we head back? Think I've had about as much fun as I can stand for one night."

"Sounds good to me."

XXXXX

"You're kidding me!" Faith exclaimed. "No, seriously, you're kidding, right?"

"Nope," Emma said as they made their way into the house. "They both came to me on my twelfth birthday and said, 'If you maintain your virginity until the age of eighteen, we will buy you a car of your choice. If you maintain your virginity to the age of twenty-one, we will give you twenty thousand dollars cash to do with what you will.'"

"You know that's a whole control thing, right?"

"Yep. The eighteen thing wasn't a big deal, seeing I didn't have a boyfriend. Twenty-one… well, that one could be up in the air." Emma shrugged. "Figured it was their way of parenting since they were never home. It was their babysitter, in a manner of speaking."

"And I thought my mom was bad," Faith said, not really thinking and grabbing a soda for both her and Emma out of the fridge. Sitting down at the table, she continued. "I mean, my mom was drunk half the time, left me on my own early, but damn, moody bitch that she was, at least she came home once in awhile."

"Your mom was an alcoholic?" Emma asked, popping the top on her own soda and drinking the can half way down.

Faith realized what she had just said, and froze. Faith never _just said_ anything about her personal life, especially her mom. "Um, yeah, she had a few drinks too many once in awhile." Just when Faith thought it was impossible to surprise herself…

"Guess that would be tough, huh?" Emma said, finishing the rest of her drink. "Where is she now?"

"Dead," Faith said, and started going through the cupboards looking for something to snack on. She was hungry all of a sudden. "Lived with my grandma until she died."

"Before or after?"

"What?"

"You said you lived with your grandma until she died. Your mom died and then you lived with your grandma until she died?"

"Yeah, I lived with my grandma after my mom died, they wouldn't let me live alone because I wasn't eighteen. Idiots. I was already living alone. So yeah, when my mom died, I went and lived with my grandma."

"How old were you when your grandma died?" Emma asked.

There was a little too much bonding going on for Faith. "I'm kinda tired. Thinkin' I'm going to turn in for the night."

"Sorry, didn't mean to pry," Emma said standing up. "You're right, though. We were up early this morning and I guess I should actually go home for a change. Tell the others I said bye. See you tomorrow, Faith."

_Faith watched as Emma grabbed her coat, and headed out the door. She listened for the car to start and head down the street. Keeping her anger in check for as long as she could, knowing she was finally alone, Faith grabbed one of the Tweety Bird covered oak kitchen chairs and smashed it up against the wall, watching it splinter into pieces that scattered throughout the entire kitchen._

_Faith should know better. She had broken her number one rule. She had let someone in…again. What made it worse, Faith hadn't even realized she was doing it until it was too late._

XXXXX


	6. Chapter 6

"Okay," Xander said. "Either we needed four hundred teeny-tiny stakes for teeny-tiny vampires, or the chair did something really, really bad."

"Oh, my." Giles said. "What happened, Faith?"

Faith leaned on the kitchen counter, arms crossed in front of her. "Nothin'. I'll take care of it."

Giles placed his hand on her shoulder. "If something has happened, you need to let me know."

"Holy cow!" Willow exclaimed as she turned the corner and came into the kitchen.

"I knew Faith had issues with Tweety, but jeez, nothing like taking it out on the chair," Buffy said, joining the others.

Faith just stood there, eyes glued to the floor, wishing that she had never smashed the fricken' chair. She knew it was stupid, but she couldn't help herself. She was pissed off and when she was mad, something needed to be broken.

"Where's Emma?" Giles asked, removing his hand from Faith's shoulder and looking around.

"I didn't hit her with the chair if that's what you're thinkin'," Faith said.

Giles sighed. "That is not what I meant."

"Went home. She'll be back tomorrow." Leaving the security of the counter behind, Faith began picking up the pieces of the chair.

"I'll help," Buffy said as she grabbed a broom out of the closet.

"Me too," Willow echoed.

"Not leaving me out of the splinter party," Xander added, picking up what was left of a chair leg.

XXXXX

Faith was glad that the 'teeny-tiny-stake' incident was weeks behind her. So much time had passed it was like it hadn't even happened, Faith thought as she stretched, getting ready for a surprise morning run, happy that the weather was mild for a change,.

A new chair had shown up a few days later to replace the one she had broken, but no one had said anything about it. Faith shook her head as she took off running. Sidewalks and streets were cleared, but snow was still prominent where it had been piled up by the plows, shovels, and snow blowers. She still couldn't believe that they had all helped her clean up the kitchen. Even Giles had pitched in. By the time they had finished, Buffy had swept the floor and Willow had mopped it.

As Faith waited for traffic to clear and was finally able to cross the street, she realized that she was used to either leaving her messes behind or cleaning them up herself. Things lately were definitely different.

As she ran, crossing wet streets and driveways, Faith loosened the scarf she had wrapped around her neck, the sun and the exertion quickly making her feel warmer than she had been when she first started out.

Faith still couldn't believe that she had told Emma so much that night. If the entire night in question wasn't confusing enough, the fact that it hadn't been brought up by anyone since then didn't help. She now had others who treated her with respect, no questions asked; they didn't harass her about it. They just dropped it. This was prime Xander ammo and even he had let it go.

Was this that 'friend thing' she had heard so much about?

Still, Emma showed up every day like clockwork and every night they would patrol together. They had become quite a team. On nights when there were more than a handful of vampires to slay, they covered each other's backs and felt comfortable with each other's fighting style.

Faith saw a park up ahead and decided that would be good place to stretch out her muscles some more. She took a sharp right turn and made a beeline for it.

Making her way to the monkey bars, Faith took off her coat and scarf and tossed them to the ground. A few chin-ups were just what the doctor ordered. Too bad they were made for kids, she'd just need to make sure she kept her legs up so they wouldn't touch the ground, which made it more challenging. Just the way she liked it.

Faith didn't consider Emma a friend, because she didn't consider anyone a friend. Add to the mix that she was training her and looking out for her, the entire 'friend concept' just didn't sit well with Faith. Yeah, Emma was a Slayer, but Faith kept mentally applying the 'Potential' label to her. Faith just couldn't get over the fact that there were so many Slayers in the world nowadays.

And if Emma referred to her as the "big sister she never had" one more time, Faith was going to deck her.

Faith dropped to the ground and began rubbing her sore hands on her jeans. She figured it was probably time to head back, not like she could hide in the park forever. And this time, being in no hurry whatsoever, she walked.

XXXXX

_She shielded her eyes. Too bright. It was too bright and she couldn't see. She was looking for something…something just out of her line of sight. Faith felt as though she had lost something very important to her. More important than anything had been to her in a long time._

_Something that she had to find before it was too late._

_And she wasn't alone. She could sense someone was with her._

_It she concentrated hard enough, she would be able to figure out who it was. _

"_B? Is that you, B?"_

Faith sat up, throwing her blankets off, covered in a cold sweat. "Third time's the charm," she said, getting out of bed.

XXXXX

"So B, how is that slayer-vibe working for you nowadays?" Faith asked as she and Buffy sat in the living room waiting for the others to get back from library.

Buffy eyed her suspiciously. "Why do you ask?"

"'Cause mine don't work for shit. Seems to go off after the vamp has gotten a few good licks in."

Buffy sighed. "Yeah, I've kind of noticed that myself lately."

"What do you think it is?"

"I wasn't sure, so I asked Giles."

"What did he say?"

"It's possible our senses have been reduced because we're sharing our power with a lot of other slayers."

Faith shrugged. "I guess that makes sense. Okay, if you have all the answers, is it just me or is this hellmouth lame?"

"Totally lame. It's too quiet. Sunnydale was usually quiet right before something really bad happened. I don't know this place well enough to know the difference."

"Oh good," Faith said, swinging her legs up on the sofa and laying back with her hands behind her head. "You know me and boredom, not the best of pals."

"I know. Giles was toying with the idea of going back to England and taking Willow with him. See if they could figure out what was going on."

"Really?"

"Yep. Of course, now Xander is torn on whether or not to stay or go with them."

"What do you think they're going to do?"

It was Buffy's turn to shrug. "I don't know. Can't say I blame any of them for wanting to leave. You're right, winter does suck and there's not much happening around here. That's why they went to the library. Giles figured he'd start locally, see if there's anything that could explain what _hasn't_ been going on."

"What about Emma?"

"Giles said she'd probably stay here with us."

"I wish I knew who made that phone call to Giles to get all of us here. That would give me someone to vent my frustrations on," Faith said, trying to stifle a yawn.

"Uh, Faith," Buffy asked.

Faith sensed a dramatic change in Buffy's mood. "Yeah?"

"Have you had any dreams since we got here?"

Okay, that was strange case of _déjà vu_. "Had a few." Remnants of dreams she couldn't remember didn't count, right?

"What was it about?"

"Looking for something, couldn't find it. No clue what I was looking for."

"Was it super bright? Almost blinding?"

Faith sat up. "Yeah, it was. Couldn't see a frickin' thing. But I think you were there with me, even though I couldn't see you."

"I've had the same one, more than once. And yeah, you were there with me too."

"What do you think it means? Have you told Giles?"

"I don't know and no. Didn't want to mention it to Giles until I found out if it was just me."

"Know what's funny, B?"

"What?"

"Whatever we were looking for in there, it ain't here."

"Yeah, I kinda got that too."

XXXXX

"Okay, it's official," Emma said. "This blows."

"What blows?" Faith said, smiling as she put her stake back in her coat pocket. Squeak was starting to sound like her. "He was closer to me, so I staked them. You want to start taking turns or somethin'?"

"No. I want to do something fun. Why doesn't anyone ever come patrolling with us anymore? Like when you first got here? That was fun, even though we split up. And it's not that I don't like hanging with you. They're always doing their own thing and leaving us on our own. It would be nice if he…uh, they would come out with us once in awhile."

Faith eyed her suspiciously. "Okay, first, stop the whining, it's annoying and who exactly are you talking about?"

Emma blushed. "No one."

Faith couldn't help but smile to herself as she made her way across the street. She had her suspicions but she didn't press it.

"Faith?" Emma said awkwardly.

Faith said, stopping. "Just spill it already."

"My life sucks. It's the same thing day after day. Always felt there should be more to it, you know? Now I know there is and I want to be a part of something more. I don't want to be left here by myself after you guys leave - and I know you're going to leave, I can tell. It's only a matter of time and I want to come with you. And if I know stuff, the more valuable I'll be and then Mr. Giles would have to take me too. I want to know everything. I want you to tell me everything that has happened to all of you. You told me some stuff that one day, but I know there's more and I want to hear it all."

Where the hell did all that come from? What happened to the overconfident slayer she had come to know? She was gone. Poof. Right before Faith's eyes.

"Not an expert here," Faith began. "But what you just said, two different things. Knowing the hell the rest of us have been through won't help you out at all. Sure, we can help train you and stuff, tell you what to look out for. But the shit that hit us? Not a huge help. And the whole thing coming with us when we leave? Entirely up to Giles. Besides, we don't know when or if we're leaving. Not sure what's making you so freaked about it now, though."

"Can I live at the house, too?"

"What?" Faith stopped dead in her wet, booted, snowy tracks.

"I want to move in there, too. This is Detroit. We're on a hellmouth and I want to live with other slayers," Emma pleaded. "Not home all by myself where nobody understands. Not anymore."

"Listen," Faith began, "I feel your pain, really. But honestly, Squeak? Not sure why you're asking me. I'm the last person you should be asking."

"Why? You seem to be the in-charge type."

Faith took a deep breath. "Being in charge and being bossy, two totally different things. All things considered, Buffy is _the_ Slayer. I don't care if there were a hundred of us living in this house, Buffy would be the one true Slayer and Giles is her Watcher."

"I thought he was all of ours?"

"Yeah, guess that's true. He's here to help us and shit. But he is her Watcher. Always has been and always will be. Just the way it is." Faith started walking again. "Don't forget that, and your life will be a lot more lacking the stress."

"Doesn't seem fair."

"Who said anything about life being fair?"

"Good point," Emma said. "So, um, what's Xander's story?"

Faith arched her eyebrows. "What do you mean, what's Xander's story?"

"Nothing big. Just wondering about him is all," Emma said, averting her eyes from Faith's at the last minute.

Faith laughed. "You're kidding, right?" And she started walking again.

"I can't help it. He's kind of cute."

"You don't get out much, do you?"

"Told you my life was boring." Emma's voice dropped, taking on the demeanor of one taking another into her confidence. "When it comes to _that_, I haven't gotten out at all."

"Well, yeah, I knew that you, haven't. But I'm sure you've played a little bit? Somethin'?" Faith asked. How could she have _never_ done anything? How could anyone have, well, _never_ done anything?

"Nope. Nothing, but I've read about it a lot, though," she said, eyes twinkling.

"What? You read porn?"

It was Emma's turn to stop walking. "No, I do not read porn. Just informational periodicals and an occasional highly-detailed romance novel."

"You are too much." Faith laughed. "And you like Xander?"

"I did not say I liked Xander. Well, I barely know him. All I said is he's kind of cute."

"Emma?"

"Yeah?"

"No way in hell you're moving in with us."

XXXXX


	7. Chapter 7

As Faith finished her morning shower and rinsed the shampoo out of her hair, she realized that she was beginning to enjoy her morning runs more and more. They gave her time to be alone and today was no different. It didn't hurt that the weather was finally starting to cooperate and she had a sneaking suspicion that everyone was glad that her 'winter sucks' comments were coming far less often.

Of course, the potholes still blew.

She grinned as she turned off the faucet and stepped out onto the soft throw rug that was waiting at her feet. She wiggled her wet toes. Granted, the rug might be ugly, but it was soft and it was clean.

After getting dressed, she went downstairs and found Giles, Buffy, Xander and Willow gathered around the kitchen table. The fact that they were there didn't shock Faith; the shocking part was the mess of papers scattered all over and the expressions on their faces.

"What did I miss?"

"Faith," Giles began, "so glad you're here." He began shuffling papers around the table. "Ahh…" He handed Faith a list of dates. "What do you make of this?"

"Kinda out of the blue, but okay," she said, taking the paper and looking it over. "A bunch of dates starting forever ago. Number of people killed or reported missing goes up a little every year until…"

Xander said, nodding. "You see the pattern don't you?"

"Numbers go crazy right after we closed Sunnydale, the first time, and then starting a few months ago they go down to almost nothing."

"Our demon shortage," Buffy said.

Faith handed the paper back to Giles. "So what exactly is this tellin' us?"

Giles sighed and sat down at the table. "We know why the numbers went up, those fleeing Sunnydale needed to relocate. With regard to the numbers going down drastically…"

"We have absolutely no clue," Buffy said.

"All we can figure is that there's a bigger hotspot somewhere that we haven't found yet," Willow added, walking to the refrigerator and grabbing a bottle of water.

"Like another hellmouth is open and ready for business?" Faith asked. "Aren't there some spells or something…?" She rolled her eyes. "Who am I? I used to hate that shit and now I'm asking for it."

Willow smiled. "It sneaks up on you."

"No kiddin'. So what do we do now?" Faith asked, leaning against the wall and placing her hands on her hips. "How can we fight something if we don't even know what it is or where it's at?"

Nobody seemed to have any ideas.

"Speaking of the mojo," Xander said, "Willow and Giles have been trying to expand the helpiness of a locator spell."

"How?"

"Instead of focusing on a person, they're going to try and see if they can focus on negative energy coming from somewhere specific," Buffy said, chin in hands.

"Doesn't the hellmouth give off that type of vibe? Won't we just, well, locate us?"

"Hey, that's what I asked!" Xander said. "You didn't get the look." Xander looked at Giles. "How come Faith doesn't get the look? I got the look."

Faith smiled. "When you got it…"

"If what I suspect is true, the 'vibe', as you call it, will be a lot stronger than the hellmouth is," Giles said. "I suspect that when and if we locate it…"

Willow said. "I'm pretty sure I'll be able to tap into whatever it is and find it."

"And Willow will work closely with the coven if necessary," Giles added.

"Whatever it is, it won't be good," Buffy said.

"Look on the bright side, B. At least we won't be bored anymore."

XXXXX

Nothing like a pre-slayage food run, Faith thought, pulling her Viper into the Taco Bell parking lot.

"Willow's going to do a spell?" Emma asked. If she'd been a puppy, her tail would have been a wagging blur.

"Yeah," Faith said.

"Okay, this could be sweet. She does a spell, we find out where all the baddies are, and we all take off and go there," Emma said, holding the restaurant door open for Faith. "I might actually be getting out of Detroit. I've never been out of Detroit, well, unless you include Windsor, and that basically doesn't count."

"We don't know nothin'. Don't be hatchin' those chickens yet."

"You don't think this is exciting?"

"How can I think it's exciting when I have no clue what's going on?" Faith asked, moving up to take her turn. "I'll take one of those number sixes. Extra cheese on all of it."

"That sounds good." Emma turned her attention towards the cashier. "I'll have what she's having and put 'em together. I'll buy."

XXXXX

"Like I said," Faith said between bites of her food, "we don't know yet, so stop with the excited."

"When are they going to do it?"

"Research first. Spells later." Faith noticed how quickly Emma was eating her dinner. Girl ate faster than Faith did and that was saying something. "Better slow down. Kind of hard to slay with indigestion."

"Indigestion? I never get no stinkin' indigestion." Emma smiled brightly. "Besides, I want ice cream after this and that's gotta put out any fires this'll cause."

Faith just sighed and downed the rest of her soda.

XXXXX

Spring had finally sprung in Michigan and Faith thought it was about damned time. Knowing she had a few hours to kill and not wanting to exactly be around anyone at the moment, she decided that it was car time, drop the top and go for a little ride. Just her, the open road and the radio blasting. Smiling, she grabbed her keys and headed down the stairs, taking two at a time in her excitement to get out of the house and be on her own, if only for a couple hours.

"Hey, Faith."

Xander? Not now. "What?" she asked stopping at the bottom of the stairs.

She watched as he walked in from the living room.

"Do you have a sec?" he asked. "I need to talk to you about something."

"Now? I was on my way out. Can it wait?" she asked, anxiously jiggling her car keys in her hand.

"Emma asked me to sleep with her."

"What!" she exclaimed, grabbing his arm and dragging him out the front door onto the porch. "Are you kidding me? That little shit."

Xander just shook his head. "Look at my face. Do you see the I'm just joking expression anywhere on it?"

"I cannot believe she did that. I told her… well, I didn't tell her tell her, but I figured she'd catch the drift with my well-placed hints." Faith sat down hard on the front porch, shoving her keys in her jeans pocket first. Squeak had finally taken the plunge, cash be damned. Faith would've thought she was past the point of being surprised. Maybe not.

Xander sat beside her. "I swear. She asked if she could talk to me and of course, me being me, I said, 'Sure, Junior Slayer, come talk to the Xan Man.'"

Faith glared at him.

Xander sighed. "She said she needed to ask me something that was important and I told her to go for it."

"And she pulled the 'I don't want to die a virgin' card," Faith said, shaking her head.

"Are you shocked and appalled? Because me? I'm shocked and appalled. But since I am the noble older man, I told her no." He paused. "You know I used to dream about this happening to me? Coming to the rescue of some poor and lonely virgin slayer." He sighed. "Reality sucks."

Faith smiled, putting her arm around his shoulders. "Gotta say, that took balls."

"Well, not literally, because…"

Faith glared at him again, but on the inside she was smiling. Xander just had a way about him sometimes.

"Okay, the Xander who hasn't had sex in a while wanted to jump at the idea. I mean she's a cute girl and everything and, hello, virgin... But the Xander who remembers the last person he had sex with…"

"Kind of put a damper on it." Faith could see how that could happen.

"And the one-night-stand-guy, I'm not him."

Faith raised one eyebrow, silently questioning, her experience telling her differently.

"Okay, that was your idea, not mine," he pointed out.

He had her there.

"Besides, my one and only one-night-stand was with you. Not that it wasn't fun and all, and had I known it was just a one-timer… so not counting the almost second time, but with Anya and then Emma… but not Emma. Hey, names that end in an 'A', there could be a pattern."

"Cordelia."

"Oh, there is a pattern. But Cordy and I, well, we never…"

"Really? From all the yakking going on there for awhile, I figured you two had bumped uglies."

"Nope, never got that far."

Look at that, another surprise, all in one morning. "Wow, so just me and…"

"Yeah."

"Maybe you should've taken Squeak up on her offer." Faith stretched her arms over her head. "Least she'll still get the cash."

"What cash? You didn't bet her I wouldn't…"

Faith rolled her eyes. "Yeah, like I'd do that. No. Her parents are gonna pay her off if she doesn't do the deed. On her 21st birthday or somethin'."

"Wow." Xander looked at Faith. "There's a one-liner in there somewhere, I just can't put my finger on it."

Faith arched an eyebrow.

"Not putting my finger on that!" he said. "What is it with you lately?"

Faith sighed. "I don't know." She stood up and began pacing back and forth across the front porch. "Antsy. B and I have been having the same dream. Don't know what it means. Nothing much going on here lately. Got all this energy and no way to ditch it. I know how I usually like to get rid of it..."

"Uh oh, not you, too," Xander said, standing up. "Is there another love spell I don't know about?"

"Oh, please. I wasn't coming on to you. Too much history there, Sinbad."

"Good to know." Xander's demeanor changed and Faith knew something was coming. "You miss Spike?"

"Is this the 'let's get into Faith's head' hellmouth or what? Why is everyone so interested in my life all of a sudden?"

She wasn't sure what to say when Xander put his hands on her shoulders, forcing her to stop pacing and look at him.

"Faith, like it or not, we are your friends. We care about you. Eventually you're going to need to get used to that fact."

Faith yanked herself away, Xander being a little too much in her space at the moment.

"So, you miss Spike?"

"You don't give up, do you?" How in the hell can she get over it, if people kept bringing it up?

Xander sat back down on the porch, adjusting his jacket so he wouldn't sit on it. "Nothing better to do."

Faith sighed in resignation and joined him. "Beats me. Haven't missed anyone in a long time. Not sure what it even feels like." That was about as honest as she could get.

"I guess it would depend on the person. And it gets better over time." Xander leaned back, letting his arms support him. "When Ahn and I first split up, I missed her every minute of every day. As time went on, it wasn't so bad. But when she died…"

"Made it all come back again, huh?"

"All of it."

"Could we be any more depressing?" Faith had a thought. "Wanna go for a ride? Was just headin' out. Figured it was a nice day for once, didn't wanna waste it."

"It's not like a date or anything, right?" Xander said.

Faith catching his teasing smile. "Only if it was your lucky day, and from what I can tell, today ain't it." She stood up, bringing him with her. "Let's go."

XXXXX


	8. Chapter 8

_She thought the yellow-kitchen-from-hell was bright in the morning. That was nothing compared to this. It should be hurting her eyes, causing her to blink, look away, or at least squint._

_The lack of discomfort was new- she could open her eyes. So she did. Still, she couldn't see anything, but she wasn't anxious. She wasn't worried. She wasn't fearful._

_Had it been like this the last time?_

_"Yo, B?" she called out. "You here?"_

_Faith couldn't sense Buffy this time. This time Faith was alone, or was she? Moving further toward the source of the light, as though drawn to it, Faith could make out a shadow. "Who's there?" she called out, yet again. _

_"Faith?" Buffy's voice._

_"Buffy? Where are you?"_

_A hand on Faith's shoulder caused her to spin around. Buffy was behind her. If B was behind her, who was that in front of her?_

Faith woke up.

XXXXX

"B," Faith said, knocking on her bedroom door quietly, trying not to wake up the entire house. "Buffy?"

Nothing.

Faith tried the knob and found it unlocked. "I'm not waiting until morning," she said quietly, opening the door.

Buffy was sprawled out on her back, blankets twisted around her legs as though she had tried to kick them off, got tangled up in them instead, and then had given up.

Faith walked up to the bed, pushing it slightly with her leg. "B, wake up."

Still nothing.

"Damn, girl." Faith started shaking the bed even harder, using her legs and her hands. "B, will you wake up already?"

"I'm awake. I'm awake," she said, sitting up so quickly it startled Faith. "What's wrong? What's going on?" As Buffy shook off the last remnants of sleep, her eyes met Faith's. "The dream. You had the dream again."

Faith nodded her head.

"And we weren't alone this time, were we?"

"Nope, we had company."

"And we weren't afraid."

"Nope, kind of nice actually."

"Know who it was? Our company?" Buffy asked, untangling her feet from the blankets and moving over so Faith could sit down.

"No," she said, sitting. "Was hoping you did. Felt like I should be following whoever it was, though."

"Me too."

"What do we do now?"

"What can we do? We aren't getting much in the way of helpful information, in case you didn't notice."

Buffy stood up and stretched. "I noticed. Nothing like feeling useless."

"No shit."

Buffy sat back down. Trying to stifle a yawn, she added, "Think we'll be taking off soon?"

"Yes. No. Maybe?" Faith shrugged. "If I've learned anything, B, it's that anything can happen. Look at us. We used to be 'The Slayers'. You know? And now we're like the old ones. The experienced ones. The teachers. You, I can see being all leady. Me? Not so much."Buffy turned to Faith and held her gaze. "You're doing okay. You know that, right?"

"Don't recall asking."

"I know you didn't ask. I thought I'd tell you anyway," Buffy said, finally turning away from Faith.

Standing, Faith said, "Well, not like we're going to get any answers tonight. Might as well get some sleep."

"Like I'll sleep now."

"I'm going to try. Training Squeak takes a lot out of a person." Faith shuddered. "All that talking. Asking questions. Xander ogling. I definitely need sleep."

Buffy smiled. "See you in the morning, Faith."

XXXXX

"Great, something else I get to worry about," Faith said, slamming the cupboard door shut. "No sleep and now no coffee. I'm being punished, aren't I?"

"I wouldn't exactly call it being punished," Xander said, smirking. "I would call it learning to survive on one's inner strength and determination."

Faith looked at him. "That doesn't even make any sense."

Xander shrugged. "Sounded good in my head."

Faith opened the fridge and settled on a soda. "There will be coffee in my future. And not the too distant future at that," she said, snapping open the can and sitting down next to Xander at the table. "So what's the plan for today, anyway?"

Xander turned all business. "Willow and Giles were up late last night, working on her spell. They're hoping to have it ready sometime today. I guess we're in a holding pattern until then."

"We've been in a holding pattern since we got here."

"Good point."

"What's a good point?" Buffy asked, coming into the kitchen.

"Same shit… different day," Faith said. "Just waiting to get the word from Red. She's supposed to have some answers for us today."

"Maybe I should pack," Buffy said, sitting down. "Be all prepared girl."

"I could do that," Xander added. "Well, not prepared girl, but prepared guy. Kind of makes sense, since we don't exactly know what we're doing yet, but we can be ready to go."

"I think we kinda do know where we're going," Willow said, coming into the kitchen, Giles directly behind her.

"Don't make us suffer. Give it up. Where we going?" Faith asked.

"Nowhere," Willow said, tentatively.

"Nowhere?" Faith asked, shocked.

"What she said," Buffy added.

"What gives?" Xander asked.

"Willow, please explain." Giles prodded.

"With the help of the coven, we found a way to isolate the largest source of demonic energy. Which by the way, not easy. We did a before and after locater spell-analysis-thingy. We started in the good old U.S. of A. West Coast to East Coast. Guess what? We didn't find anything. Detroit didn't have much of anything left. Okay, not surprised. Neither did California, Texas, Maine, nothing was exuding any sort of extra badness. Here," she said, handing a printout to Buffy, "it's all right there."

"What about everyplace else?" Buffy asked.

"The same. No increase," Giles said. "Mexico, Europe, Australia, the same."

"Okay," Faith said standing. "This is interesting and all, but what does it mean?"

Willow beamed. "We figured it out." She glanced at Giles who motioned for her to continue. "It's not that the demonic activity has decreased, it's that the slayer activity has increased. There's more good now, which, when it comes to spell-casting, makes the bad look like it's decreased, but it's the same or maybe even more. I had to tweak the spell to overlook the goodness and just focus on the badness. Right here, under our very noses, there is something going on that is drawing baddies here, not sending them away."

"What?" Faith demanded.

Giles cleared his throat. "It appears that there is a presence in Detroit, and that presence is recruiting. That would explain the dwindling numbers of vampires you have encountered while out on patrol. They have been pulled into another direction, on the request of something we have yet to identify." Giles removed his glasses and handed another printout to Buffy."Since when did spells produce printouts?" Faith asked to no one in particular.

Xander glanced at her and shrugged his shoulders, smiling in the process. Rubbing his forehead, he asked, "Is anyone else getting a headache or is it just me?"

"I don't have a headache," Emma said walking into the kitchen, tossing her coat on a chair in the corner. "But then again, I just got here."

"This oughta be interesting," Faith said.

"What's going on?" Emma asked, sitting next to Buffy.

"Our local demons haven't hightailed it anywhere, Squeak. They're still here. They're just in hiding, waiting to surprise us with something big and bad," Faith told her.

"We aren't going anywhere?""Not looking that way," Buffy said.

"Damn," Emma said, with a sigh.

"One day," Faith told her. "I'm sure you won't be stuck here forever.'

"So where do we start?" Buffy asked.

"We start with breakfast," Giles said, "and then take it from there.

XXXXX

After breakfast and a required coffee purchase, Faith decided to go for her run. By the time she got to the park, she was a little calmer, but nowhere near ready to go back to the house yet. Being stuck in Detroit was one thing, not knowing what they were fighting, something entirely different.

She did need to rest, though. She looked around, and settled on a swing. She wanted to sit and this would work as well as anything else.

Emma had wanted to come with her, but this time was Faith's and Faith's alone. In all honesty, she liked Emma most of the time, but the kid just never let up. She was always asking about something. Every time Faith turned around, it felt like she was there.

She began to pump her legs, and in no time flat, Faith was swinging. With the recent lack of alone time, the house seemed to be getting smaller and smaller. She didn't patrol alone at all anymore. If for some reason Emma couldn't make it, Buffy would go with her.

Buffy tended to patrol on her own which meant B got all sorts of alone time, except for the occasions when Willow or Xander decided to tag along. The group was strong with the teaminess and not wandering too far alone.

Faith was beginning to think she missed the chaos of Sunnydale. Especially with the non-chaos of this place.

Maybe Giles was wrong; maybe the hellmouth was actually in Cleveland and not in Detroit. If you looked at a map, and squinted, the two cities looked really, really close.

It could happen.

Faith sighed. She hadn't kept track of how many months they'd been here. If she didn't keep track, she didn't remind herself how long it had been since she'd seen Spike.

Spike. In love with a vampire? That was one of the dumbest things she'd ever heard. But if she was, even a little bit? Yeah, that would be just like her. Making one bad decision after another. She wasn't anywhere near ready to see him again, but if Angel ever needed her help, Faith knew she'd go to L.A. in a heartbeat. With or without figuring out what the hell she was going to do about Spike.

Everyone kept asking her, but she never answered. It was none of their business. But she did miss Spike. She missed talking to him, she missed patrolling with him, she just missed him in general.

Why was it so hard to tell them the truth? "Hey guys, you're right. I do miss Spike but that doesn't mean I'm in love with him." With a deep sigh, Faith let her feet drag on the ground, kicking up dust and forcing the swing to come to a complete standstill. She knew it was getting dark and if she didn't head back, someone would be out looking for her.

She supposed it was time to go home, if that's what you'd call it. She hadn't really felt at home anywhere, ever. Why should this house be any different?

Faith sighed. Might as well head back. Not like there was anywhere else for her to go. Faith's only hope was that Emma had taken the hint and gone home herself. Faith had a suspicion that there wouldn't be any patrolling tonight. Too much other stuff going on.

And most of the _other stuff_ was happening in Faith's own head.

XXXXX


	9. Chapter 9

Faith was wrong. There was patrolling, and for a change, she was patrolling with B. "We haven't done this in a while."

"Told Giles if I didn't get out and patrol I was going to blow something."

Faith just looked at her.

"Why do you take everything I say and twist it that way?"

"Just not you, B, I twist what everyone says that way. Xander is always a mess when I get through with him."

"How did Emma take it when she found out that Xander wasn't going to sleep with her anyway?" Buffy asked.

"Oh, man. She was pissed! She went on some 'I thought we were friends' rampage."

"What does that have to do with it? Not like she wanted to sleep with you and you said no," Buffy said.

"How does your brain work?" Faith asked, shaking her head. "She figured I'd put a good word in for her. You know, 'tell Xander that it'd be a good idea' or something. Like I'd do that."

Buffy smiled. "Sounds like you got yourself a little sister wannabe."

"Yep, she said that too." Faith sighed. "I feel bad for the kid. She's been on her own so long. Not many friends. Having to fend for herself. Gotta be hard."

It was Buffy's turn to stare at Faith.

"What?" Faith asked.

"You're kidding, right?"

"No, I'm not kidding. What's with the look?"

"Been on her own, not many friends, fending for herself, gotta be hard? Sound like anyone you know?"

"Vampire…"

"No, not a, vamp… Oomph!"

"…coming up fast behind you."

Buffy was quicker than Faith gave her credit for. Tackled from behind, she never even hit the ground. Using her momentum in a way Faith doubted she could duplicate, Buffy spun around, kicked the vamp in the head and staked him before he knew what hit him.

"Thanks for the warning," she said, putting her stake back in the waistband of her jeans.

"No problem," Faith said, grinning, and continuing on with the patrol.

"I'm serious, Faith," Buffy said, keeping pace. "I think you and Emma have a connection. And a lot in common."

"Just stop right there, B." Faith spun around, stopping them both dead in their tracks. "Emma is nothing like me, got it? We don't have anything in common. Her life was nothing like mine, so whatever bonding game is going on around here, this slayer doesn't want to be part of it."

"Whoa," Buffy said, raising both hands in surrender. "Didn't mean to hit a nerve. Just being observy, is all. No need to bite my head off."

"If I was biting your head off, you'd know it."

"Truce, already."

"Fine. Whatever." Faith kicked a rock that was in her path.

"One day Faith, you're finally going to let somebody in."

"Did that already."

"Spike?"

"You and Xander compare notes or somethin'?"

"What?"

"Was there some meeting I missed? Some agenda with the topic being, 'This week we're going to make Faith wicked crazy by asking her all sorts of questions she doesn't want to answer.'? Well, just forget it."

What happened to the days when people just left her the hell alone and didn't care what she was thinking? Those times seemed pretty rosy right now. She could tell by Buffy's expression that she didn't know what the hell Faith was talking about. "Never mind. Let's head back."

Buffy didn't say anything, but Faith knew she wanted to.

XXXXX

"They're in Detroit?"

"That's what I said, isn't it?" Angel said, stomping into the elevator.

"I thought the hellmouth was in Cleveland," Spike said, rushing in directly behind him.

"Detroit."

"That's just… interestin'."

Angel eyed him suspiciously. "Why is that interesting?"

"From what I heard, Faith thought they were going to Italy. That's what Buffy said, anyway. And now they're in Detroit." He laughed. "I'm sure they had one brassed-off slayer on their hands."

"Why are you following me?" Angel asked, stepping out of the elevator and making his way toward his office. "I have things to do. Isn't there someplace you need to be… that's away from me?"

"I want to know why Giles called," Spike said matter-of-factly as he and Angel walked into Angel's office. "If he called you and asked for help, it's something important."

Spike enjoyed the shock that registered on the prat's face. "Who said he called?" Angel demanded.

"Like anything's a secret around this place," Spike said, sitting down on the couch. Then spotting the expression on Angel's face, added, "Harm told me."

"Remind me to get another secretary if we survive the latest apocalypse," Angel muttered, sitting down behind his desk.

"What's going on?"

Angel sighed. "He wanted to know if we heard anything that could be going on in their neck of the woods. Been pretty quiet there, or so they thought, but it looks like something big is coming their way and they don't know what it is."

"Big? How big? What did you tell him?"

"Been a little busy, Spike. Told him what I'm telling you now, and then I don't want to hear anymore about it. I haven't heard anything. Got my own problems on this end, haven't had time to find out what theirs are."

"Of all the selfish… you do know that Buffy and Faith are in Detroit, don't you?"

"Of course I do, Spike. I also know that they're big girls and they can take care of themselves." Angel dropped the folder that he had in his hands, Spike watched as it slowly fluttered to the desk. Angel sighed, hard. "I Told Giles if they needed help to let us know. Told him that if we heard anything we'd let them know. Happy now?"

"Happy is not exactly in my vocabulary of late," Spike said, standing and storming out of the office, not bothering to close the door behind him.

XXXXX

"He called Angel?" Faith asked, dropping down onto the couch. "When? Why'd he do that?"

"Called him over a week ago, I think. It's the evil law firm thing," Buffy said, sitting next to her. "Thought he may have heard something through the underworld grapevine."

"What'd Angel tell him?"

"Not much, from what I can tell. Looks like Angel is working on a mess of his own. Not that he would tell Giles what it was, even if Giles would listen, which I doubt he would. Those two, not the best of friends."

"There's an understatement."

Buffy smiled. "See, not everyone is as evolved as we are. Look at us, friends and everything." Buffy nudged Faith with her elbow. "Yay, us."

"B."

"What?"

"Your cheerleader is back."

"So?"

"She's annoying as hell."

"Buffy isn't annoying," Xander said, coming in the front door with both Willow and Giles behind him. "She's far too perky to be annoying."

"Xander, in my book, perky is annoying."

"It's better then being all Grr all the time," Willow chimed in.

"I'm not Grr all the time," Faith shot back.

"I didn't mean you," Willow said apologetically.

"Perhaps a change of subject is called for," Giles said stepping around both Xander and Willow. "We believe we have found the 'why' of the demon gathering."

"Spill it," Faith said.

"They plan on opening the hellmouth."

Faith rolled her eyes. "What a surprise."

"Different hellmouth. Same plan," Buffy sighed. "You think they'd come up with something original. Who are they? And how do they plan on doing it?"

"By sacrificing a virgin."

XXXXX

"Sacrificing a virgin? Xander so should've slept with me," Emma said, obviously pissed off. Faith couldn't help but suppress the smile that threatened to overtake her entire face.

"Giles wants you to move into the house for safety and all." Faith was thoughtful for a minute. "Jeez, if you think about, if virgin blood is that powerful, virgin slayer blood has gotta be a hundred and fifty proof."

Emma stopped pacing and finally met Faith's gaze. "I get to move in? Live in the same house? With you and Buffy and Willow and Mr. Giles and… Xander?"

"Kill the puppy-dog eyes already. Just because you're living in the same house doesn't mean you'll be playing house, little girl. I'll be watching you."

"Are we going to be roomies?"

Faith laughed. "Most definitely not. You get the couch. All the rooms are taken." Faith watched Emma's mood transform right before her eyes. "Don't get all pouty. We'll find the big bad, save the day, and then you can move back home, all nice-n-cozy like, your folks none the wiser. What are you going to tell them anyway?"

"Maybe I'll just tell them I'm going to visit my brother. That'll give me a few months to play with before they catch on." She rolled her eyes. "Parents."

"Oooh, look at you… the sneaky little one." Faith thought about it for a second and then added. "I like it, not sure how you'll pull it off, but I like it."

XXXXX

Emma pulled it off. Didn't take her long, either. She was the newest houseguest within a week. Faith thought as she watched her bop around the living room anxiously waiting for Xander to get back.

"How cool is this?" Emma asked to no one in particular.

They all had talked about it earlier in the day. What better way was there to welcome the latest member of the mock family then a movie and popcorn night?

"About time," Faith said.

Xander had finally gotten back from the video store. "Okay, we have all sorts of movies to pick from," he said, spreading them out over the coffee table. "No chick flicks though. I draw the line at chick flicks."

"I like scary movies," Emma said. "Did you bring anything scary?"

"Since when haven't you watched chick flicks?" Willow asked, coming into the living room with popcorn. "I beg to differ, Xander Harris."

Xander glanced nervously at the girls that surrounded him. "The new Xander Harris doesn't watch chick flicks. How's that?" he asked uncomfortably, his gaze settling on Willow.

"I'm with Harris," Faith said. "No sappy shit for me. Give me a movie where something blows up and I'm happy."

"And nothing too gross," Willow said, setting the popcorn down. "I get enough gross in real life; don't need to be watching it on the television."

"Nooo," Buffy said, holding up a movie. "Blade? You got Blade? We are so not watching this."

Faith snatched it out of her hand. "This movie rocks. And Wesley Snipes defines the essence of hotness." She tossed the movie to Xander. "We're watching this one."

"Well, if you think about it," Emma began, "It's not a chick flick, it's not too gross," she added tentatively.

"Not too gross? Says who!" Buffy exclaimed. "There's blood everywhere, remember the sprinklers? And body parts and biting and…" she shuddered, "…just, well, eww."Xander added, "Ladies, I believe we have a winner."

"Where's Giles?" Buffy asked. "I'm sure he'd like to have a say in this."

"You've been out-voted B. And no way," Faith said, shaking her head. "He'd pick something British and boring and then I'd probably have to shoot myself. We're watching Blade. Wesley is just plain hot…" Faith realized what she had just said. "I can't believe that just came out of my mouth."

"Freudian slip?" Buffy asked teasingly.

"Okay B. I'll hook up with Wesley right after you and G get it on." Putting both arms at her side, Faith mimicked a pumping gesture.

"Faith!" Buffy exclaimed. "That's just, gross. And there is so much wrong with that statement I wouldn't even know where to start." Faith watched as the horror dawned on Buffy's face. "Not that Giles is gross… to the right woman and all. But not him and me because, well…" Buffy dropped her face into her hands, obviously giving up on a losing battle.

Emma looked at Xander. "Sounds to me like she knew where to start. Who's Wesley?"

"Faith's old Watcher," Xander told her quietly.

"Can we not talk about this? Changing the subject, good idea," Willow pleaded.

An eye roll or two later, Xander was loading Blade and Wesley Snipes in all his glory into the DVD player, bowls of popcorn had been scattered around the room and Faith longed for a beer.

"Okay, night off, I want a brew." She stood up. "Get anyone anything?"

After tallying who wanted what, Faith headed for the kitchen.

XXXXX

"Waitress, I ain't," she said, as she looked through the refrigerator, trying to find the requested beverages. "There'd better be a beer in here," she said pushing aside the orange juice and milk. "They're so lucky." Faith snatched a beer from the stash she had hidden in the back. She grabbed the sodas everyone else wanted, and, realizing she didn't have enough hands, left her beer on the counter.

"If anyone wants ice, you can get it yourself," she added as she turned and headed back into the kitchen.

She cracked open her beer and was about to head back when she had the uncanny feeling of being watched. Walking back towards the living room, she peeked in and saw that everyone was accounted for. Well, everyone except for Giles, who had gone on some fact-finding mission. Faith suspected he just needed to get out on his own for a bit, who could blame him?

She went back into the kitchen and realized she couldn't shake the being watched feeling. Knowing that the kitchen only had one way in and out, Faith went to the back door and opened it. Reaching into the waistband of her jeans, knowing in that moment that she didn't have a stake on her. And if some baddie was waiting for her…

She snatched a knife out of the butcher's block.

Nothing jumped out at her. Faith took one step out the back door to see if she could get a better look or a better sense of what was out there. There wasn't any question in her mind, she knew she wasn't alone. She was just waiting for whatever it was to show itself.

Nothing like bringing the fight to your door.

Faith ventured further into the backyard, around the porch, to the back of the garage and the shed that sat right behind it. She checked behind the bushes and along both sides of the house. Nothing.

She and B had talked about how wonky their slayer vibe had been lately, maybe this was just another one of those times.

Faith turned towards the house and headed back to the porch.

She didn't make it that far. Someone was standing in her way. Someone she recognized immediately.

"Heard you might be needin' some help, pet... and I kinda missed the Viper."

XXXXX


	10. Chapter 10

"Car's mine and I didn't ask for help," Faith blurted.

He just smiled at her. "Glad to see not much has changed." She watched as he took a step toward her. "But I hear a little different about needin' the help."

"Giles called Angel, not you. And if I remember right, it was for info, not help."

He took another step. "Not exactly the warm reception I was expectin'."

Faith stepped back. "Doubt my memory is going, so I'm pretty sure I didn't ask you to come here. For help or anything else."

Spike only smiled wider, making her even more uncomfortable. How did he manage it to do that with just a grin? She couldn't have felt more vulnerable if his pointy pearlies were clamped on her neck. "Why are you really here?" she finally asked.

Spike shrugged. "Didn't like the idea of you being in trouble is all. Besides, I prefer the company out this way. Angel's been a broody bastard lately, needed a break."

"Another one? You seem to take a lot of breaks."

Their gazes shifted when the back door opened.

Xander.

"Faith…" he began, the shock registering on his face almost immediately, "is…um, busy. Really, really busy." Xander backpedaled, the aluminum door smacking shut like a discarded beer can.

"Wonderful," Faith said, exasperated. She stormed past Spike and back inside, only stopping when she realized he hadn't followed her.

He was just outside the door, a slight smirk on his face, arms crossed in front of him.

"That whole 'invite' thing is a bitch sometime, isn't it?" Faith smiled.

Spike didn't have a chance to respond. Emma came crashing into the kitchen. "Let go! I want to see him. Come on, Xander. Don't make me hurt you!"

"I tried to stop her. She's a stubborn little thing." He rubbed his bicep. "Strong too. And now...she's all yours."

Faith really didn't care for an eager audience at the moment. "Emma, follow Xander right back into the other room."

"Why is he standing outside?" Emma asked, ignoring her. "You didn't invite him in did you? Come on in, Spike" she said, smiling brightly. "I've heard so much about you! I can't believe I actually get to meet you."

"Stupid!" Faith said, louder then she really wanted to. "You just don't go and invite vampires in. Especially ones you don't know. Sometimes I think I'm surrounded by idiots."

Faith caught the stricken look on Emma's face and felt like total shit before Emma even cleared the kitchen.

"Nice, Faith. Glad to see you can still charm with the best of 'em," Spike said. "That, I take it, is the newest addition to the slayer line?"

Faith put her hand up in a warding-off gesture. "Just… shut-up," she said, following after Emma.

"Spike," Willow said, standing so fast Faith would've swore something had poked her in the ass. "What brings you here? Um, what difference does it make, right? Glad you're here!" she said tentatively, sitting back down and glancing at Buffy, an imploring look on her face.

"Long day today, huh?" Buffy asked, walking over to the DVD player and switching both it and the TV off. "I say we call it a night. Will, we can bunk together. Emma can have my room for the night. Okay, Emma?"

Emma nodded her head slowly, her gaze never meeting Faith's once. Faith wasn't sure what Emma was looking at, but she knew it wouldn't be her anytime soon.

Oh, and what a surprise. B didn't follow anyone up the stairs. She had to stop and talk to Spike first. Faith rolled her eyes.

"Hey," Buffy said, smiling and tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Slayer," Spike said.

Slayer? Faith would be damned. They were flirting. And if anyone knew anything about being all flirty-like, it would be Faith.

"Spike," Buffy said, the smile still encompassing her entire face.

And then they hugged. Hugged? Faith, her arms dangling at her sides, unconsciously clenched and unclenched her fists. If they didn't break it up soon, she was going to break it up for them.

"Not sure why you're here, Spike," Buffy said. "But it's good to see you." Teasingly adding, "It's been kinda boring around here lately." Then she squeezed his arm gently. "Guess I should be going to bed myself."

"See you in the morning," Buffy said.

Then Buffy turned her attention to Faith. "And you," she shook her finger, "be nice."

Faith didn't say a word, but inside she was fuming. Who was B to tell her what to do? Instead, she just stood there, watching Buffy retreat up the stairs. And once she was out of sight, Faith turned her full attention to Spike. "You've had your fun. You can go now."

"Me? Go? Did you see that?" Spike laughed sarcastically.

Faith couldn't find anything worth laughing about, sarcastic or not.

"Did you see Buffy?" Spike pointed at the stairs. "That's how one welcomes a friend they haven't seen in awhile. Might want to take notes."

"Don't you dare," Faith said, pointing her finger. "Don't you dare compare me to B. That is the quickest way for me to kick your ass and you know it."

"Can't help it. Thought you were in trouble. Come all this way and I get greeted by a bloody iceberg."

"I didn't ask you to come here. Remember?" Faith knew he was impatient and she refused to feel guilty about it. She was just pissed. "Which part of 'I'm not ready, I need some time' did you not get?" she asked flatly, her heart beating so hard inside her chest she knew the dickhead wouldn't even need to strain to hear it.

"Didn't come here to make your life difficult. Thought you could be in trouble, just wanted to lend a helping hand. Help out if I could."

Part of her was glad he was here, bouncing off the walls glad, but the other part of her, the deepest part of her, didn't want him close.

"You as in 'us', right? Me and the Scooby Gang? Which no matter what it looks like, I have not joined." Faith eyed him warily. "And before you start asking all sorts of questions, I didn't have anything else better to do, so I decided to hang awhile." She shrugged. "Nothing's changed when it comes to that," she said, making sure he knew where she was coming from. "Besides, I thought I was getting a free trip to Italy. Be stupid to turn that down."

Spike laughed quietly. "So I heard. Little detour and all. Guess you can say that's why I'm here. I'm…" Spike spread his arms in a welcoming gesture, "just going to hang for awhile."

Faith realized that a beer was sounding even better now then it had less than an hour ago. Sighing hard, she spun on her heels and headed back to the kitchen.

Needless to say, she wasn't surprised to find that it was warm. And if Faith hated anything, it was warm beer. So she dumped it down the drain, and watched as the foam dissipated, knowing that Spike had followed her yet again.A night that started with Wesley Snipes killing vampires had turned into Faith hanging in the kitchen, watching a warm beer go down the drain, with a real-life vampire that just happened to have a soul.

And what bothered her the most? Part of her wanted to shove him back on the kitchen table and do him right then and there.

So why wasn't she?

XXXXX

Emma just wanted to be alone. She was hurt and embarrassed and maybe a little bit shocked. She couldn't believe Faith had treated her that way. Yeah, so Faith kept telling her they weren't friends. Friends. Just a word. And if Emma knew anything, she knew actions spoke way louder.

So much for being alone.

"Are you okay?" Buffy asked knocking quietly and then coming into the room, Willow right behind her. "Don't take any of that stuff Faith said personally. Really, that had absolutely nothing to do with you. You get that, right?"

"She's right," Willow added. "Faith gets kinda cranky sometimes and if you're within point-blank range, you're an automatic target."

"I know," Emma began. "It's just that…" She really didn't know any of these people very well. Yeah, so she's living with them and all, but still. Emma wasn't sure how honest she could be with them. They'd all known each other way longer and she had seen on more then one occasion all the 'inside joke' stuff going on that she wasn't privy to.

No guts, no glory, right? Emma forged ahead. "I know I shouldn't have burst into the kitchen. I'm not stupid. But when Xander said Spike was here and I had heard so much about him and it was Spike. He was here and I wanted to meet him. It's almost like someone you've heard so much about and they sound really cool. And you think you'll never meet them, and then, whammo, they're so close and you just gotta. I just stopped thinking and just kinda reacted."

Buffy smiled. "I think Spike has that effect on a lot of people."

Emma watched as Buffy and Willow shared a brief moment. And there it was again, that 'inside' thing.

Whatever it meant made Buffy amend her previous statement. "The not thinking thing and reacting thing was what I meant."

"Sounds like you got kind of star struck," Willow added, "for lack of a better term."

"How come no one told me how cute he was?" Emma asked, and then quickly added, "Not as cute as Xander, but still cute."

"Are you going to be okay?" Buffy asked.

Well, since no one can actually die from embarrassment, Emma knew she'd be okay. She might be avoiding a certain slayer and vampire for awhile, but in the long run, worse things have happened. Right? "Yep, I think I will. Been through worse, you know?"

"And knowing Faith, it'll blow over and she'll act like nothing even happened," Willow supplied. "It's just how she is."

"I'm not an expert on friendship," Emma said. "Haven't had many. But I just didn't think someone could be so mean to a person they considered a friend. I think that's what surprised me the most. What hurt the most. She just yelled at me. Right in front of Spike and God and everyone."

"I know you've been on your own for awhile. But when you do what we do, with all the stress -- you know, life and death decisions on a daily basis, not leading normal lives, and now add moving around a lot -- sometimes it gets overwhelming and one little thing can make you blow," Buffy said. "Automatic bitch mode."

"Like the straw and the camel's back," Willow added.

"I'm not trying to make excuses for Faith, but like Willow said, Faith is Faith, that's just how she is. Try not to take it personally."

"Water off a duck's back," Willow said. "Just let it roll off."

XXXXX

Faith wasn't sure how she had gotten away from Spike, but she didn't care. Once she made her way back to her bedroom, and after she jammed a chair under the doorknob, just in case, Faith fell onto the bed. Not like she would sleep, knowing that he was so close.

When Faith had been halfway up the stairs, she heard him call out, "Don't worry about me. I'll be just fine. The couch looks comfy."

Ass.

And if he wasn't enough to worry about, she had treated Emma like shit.

Faith couldn't blame Squeak for being so excited about meeting Spike. Faith suspected that Emma had placed some kind of idol status on him. Spike was probably right up there with that Anne Rice vampire she was always babbling about. What was his name? _Lestat_? That was it. Girl had heard so much about Spike, who could blame her? But Faith had been surprised and she didn't like being surprised, so she lashed out. Fight of Flight, you know? Emma had the misfortune of being the closest target when Faith had gone into über-bitch mode.

Faith rolled over, dragging the pillow with her. She just wanted to sleep. She just wanted to forget the day ever happened.

Thinking that she might prefer boredom, she finally drifted off to sleep.

XXXXX


	11. Chapter 11

Faith hoped it would be business as usual the next morning. Not a chance.

As she came into the kitchen, Emma wouldn't even look at her. Spike, hanging out in a shady corner, that's all he was doing. Oh, and let's not forget the way everyone was acting all nervous around her, like they were waiting for Mount So-Not-A-Saint Faith to erupt or something.

"Faith," Xander said, as soon as she stepped into the room. "Good morning. Wow," he babbled, glancing at the clock, his voice pitched a half step up from normal, "look at the time. There's something I need to do. Somewhere that's not here."

Willow stood up, fumbling all nervous-like. Here comes the no-so-convincing excuse to leave. "I…um, need to help Xander." The witch would need to work on that one. And she was off.

Buffy didn't say much of anything, just sat innocently drinking her coffee.

The entire thing was getting on her nerves, good night's sleep or not. "Thinkin' I got stuff to do, too. I'm outta here," Faith said.

Faith flew out of the kitchen and into the living room, grabbing a jacket and her car keys. She didn't need this and she wasn't going to subject herself to it. Wasn't worth it.

"Leaving so soon?"

Like she didn't know that was going to happen. "Little bright for you. Might want to move." Faith opened the door, watching as Spike jumped backwards, the sunlight barely missing him. She walked out the door, slamming it so hard; it swung back open instead of latching closed.

XXXXX

"Well," Spike said, knowing that Buffy was standing just behind him. "That was a roll and a tickle, eh?" He watched as she made her way to the front door, closing it gently.

"Isn't it usually?" she finally said.

"So, why are you really here?" she asked, sitting down in the wingback chair, crossing her leg under her.

Spike sighed, realizing he had been holding his non-breath. Waiting for the wrath of Faith. Now that she had left, he knew he could relax… even if only for the moment.

"Where's Harris's patch?"

Buffy gave him the shortened version of the new patchless Xander.

"Good for him," Spike said, actually meaning it.

"And no more changing the subject. Why are you here? I mean, really."

"Didn't like being away," he looked around, making sure the room was relatively sunshine safe. Satisfied, he sat down in an accompanying chair.

Buffy laughed. "Oh, because it's so much fun in Detroit," she said waving her arm about.

Spike smiled at that. "Let's see. Hang out with Angel-boy or my two favorite slayers? Decided I'd opt for the latter." Spike was more then ready for yet another subject change. "What's been goin' on around here?"

Buffy shook her head. "Do you want to know what's going on, what isn't going on, or what could go on?"

"How about "D", all of the above?"

"Okay," Buffy began. "What's going on? Nothing. What isn't going on? A lot of slaying. What could go on? A sacrificial virgin to open the Hellmouth we are currently sitting on. How's that?"

Spike said. "Sacrificing a virgin? A little clichéd, isn't it?"

"Isn't it all cliché nowadays?"

Spike nodded his head in agreement. "Good point." He glanced toward the kitchen. "What's with the junior slayer?"

"Which part?"

"There are parts?"

"Most definitely parts."

"Okay, let's start with the first part. What is she doing here?"

Buffy shifted uncomfortably, but continued. "Giles thought it was a good idea for her to stay here. Being a virgin and a slayer, she's screaming, 'Come sacrifice me'."

"Ouch. Can see that. A virgin, eh?"

"Spike…"

His hands flew up in surrender. "Just haven't seen one of those in awhile...besides the bit. It's a… novelty."

"Yeah, right. I'm sure that's what you were thinking."

Spike watched as she rolled her eyes. He couldn't help but smile. "What's the rest?"

"She has attached herself to Faith. Little sister wannabe. She and Faith are a team when it comes to patrolling. Emma's actually softened her up a little…"

"Softened? You're still talking about Faith, right? The one who tried to dust me using Mr. Shiny on her way out this morning?"

"Maybe softened isn't the right word, but they kinda clicked." Buffy paused. "What else? Oh! Emma has a crush on Xander and actually asked him to sleep with her because she didn't want to die one. And that was even before she knew about the whole 'sacrificing a virgin' thing."

Spike couldn't help it, he actually laughed. "The virgin's got a crush on Harris. Well, if that doesn't beat all. Sure she's not part demon? Even a small part? Harris seems to have a knack for attracting them."

"Um, nope. Pretty sure she's all human. One-hundred percent bonafide virgin slayer."

"Well, since she's still…intact, I'll guess the boy said no."

Buffy shook her finger at him. "Do not say a word. You hear me?"

"Lips are sealed, Slayer. Lips are sealed." Spike raised his hand. "Scout's honor and all that."

XXXXX

Spike knew he wasn't going anywhere, but the idea of sleeping on the couch for another night didn't sit well with him either. Being on display didn't necessary bother him. What did he have to hide?

What worried him was living in the same house with a brassed-off slayer. Add that to the fact that the couch was right in front of a really big window… Piss her off enough and he'd be chancing becoming a permanent part of an already dusty living room.

Spike decided that sometimes the old ways were the best, so he set up shop in the basement. There wasn't a cot to be had, but Buffy had found him a futon. A futon? That didn't sound too manly, but it was soft, and he'd be able to sleep on it all happy-like.

"Thanks," he told Buffy as she placed a folded blanket and pillow on top of it.

"No problem. Something kind of familiar among the not-so-much."

"What?"

"You? Basement?"

"Ah." Spike started roaming around, checking things out. "You mentioned Giles. Where is he?"

"He left yesterday, said he had some research to do. Called this morning and said he wasn't quite done yet and he'd be back later this afternoon. And before you ask, I told him you were here."

"And what did he have to say to that?" Spike asked, sitting down on the futon and looking at her. "Was he pleased as Punch at my being here?"

Buffy sat down next to him. "Actually, he kinda was. Wants to talk to you about the hellmouth and the amulet and all that. He never got to do that. It's a thing."

Spike laughed quietly. "Tell him that it was old hat by now? The hellmouth has been closed, yet again."

"You know Giles," Buffy said, "doesn't matter as long as it's got facts and magic or its old and interesting...or all of the above."

Spike watched as Buffy fiddled with the bracelet she was wearing.

"Somethin' on your mind?" he asked.

"Angel."

"Angel?"

"Yeah."

"The pouf?"

"Yes. And no, not in the way you're thinking. What's going on with him lately? He seems…different. Distracted."

Spike wished he knew. "Somethin' big going down I think. Prat's not sharing though. Not telling any of us anything. You thought he was broody-boy before, you should see him now."

"I kinda got that when I talked to him. Nothing we can do to help?"

"Can't say there is, love. He's not talkin'. Not much help any of us can do at the moment."

"What about Wesley? Does he know anything?"

"If he does, he's not talkin' either."

"Why do I get the sense it's only a matter of time before everything blows up in our faces?"

Spike squeezed her hand. "Probably because it's true, love."

XXXXX


	12. Chapter 12

As the sound of Buffy's footsteps receded, Spike felt the day... and the night before, catching up with him. He hadn't slept much, knowing Faith was two floors above him. Of course knowing she wasn't two floors above his didn't ease his mind much, either.

Probably should try to catch a few winks. She wouldn't be back for a while. He knew her that well. Besides, even asleep, he'd know the moment she walked in the door. Spike stretched out on the futon, willing himself to relax. He hoped all she needed was some time to herself.

And if she wasn't back by nightfall, he was going out to look for her.

Yeah, so he had lied... again. Being away from her only made it worse. He still wanted to be with her. But in typical Faith style, she had made herself untouchable. Spike knew she was the last person who could be rushed into something she wasn't ready for.

"Spike?"

So much for catching forty.

Spike smiled. Mini-muffin finally worked up the nerve to talk to him. Probably not a coincidence that it was after Faith bolted. "Yeah. Come on down. I don't bite… anymore."

Spike could hear her footsteps as she tentatively descended the stairs. He pulled up an old wooden chair, swung it around, and sat, waiting for her to finally make her way down.

"Hi," she said when she reached the bottom.

Spike nodded his head in acknowledgement. "What makes me so lucky as to be graced by your presence?" he said, smiling with all the charm he could muster.

Emma blushed. "Little embarrassed and all. You know. The way I acted last night. Sorry about that. I didn't mean to upset everyone. I was just curious," she said quietly.

"No worries, pet. Guess slayers are a curious lot." Spike smiled inwardly. He felt a bit like a rock star, basking in the glow of his fans. He laced his fingers behind his head and tipped the chair back, balancing it on two legs. "That why you're here? To do the apologizin' thing?"

Emma grabbed her own chair, pulling it over so it was directly in front of him. Sitting down, she said, "I'm not sure."

Spike noticed that she kept her gaze directed at his face. Realizing the way he was sitting, he glanced at his own lap. His jeans weren't _that_ tight. Not like he was intentionally advertising or anything. "So we'll just sit, then?" he finally asked, figuring he was being hyper-aware of his manliness since she was an awestruck virgin and all.

Emma sighed loudly. "No."

"Out with it," he said. "Tell me why you're really here."

"You're a vampire."

Spike laughed. "Rumor has it."

"And you have a soul."

"Yeah."

"And you're in love with Faith."

Spike wasn't expecting that one. "Not quite sure that's your business," he said, letting his chair fall forward, all four legs now safely on the ground.

Emma shook her head. "You're right. It's not. Sorry."

Her gaze shifted to her own lap. Spike watched as she fiddled with a button on her sweater. Girl had taken the time to get dressed. Definitely a jammies kind of night. Spike couldn't be sure, but he suspected whatever it was she wanted to say would be good, if she ever got around to actually saying it.

Emma finally looked at him. "Your skin. Is it hot? Cold? Warm? Soft? Smooth? Rough? You're a vampire. You haven't been in the sun over a hundred years. You don't have a heart to pump the blood through your veins… or other parts. You need blood to survive. And you don't look old at all."

"Havin' a hard time getting your brain around it, eh?"

"Aside from being a little pale, you look, well, human. If I didn't know… I probably wouldn't know, especially with our slayer vibes being off lately."

"You'd know," Spike began, resting his hands on his knees. "Being a slayer and all. You would've figured it out. Comes with the slayer package."

Emma sighed. "Yeah, I'm a slayer. Been staking vampires and all that. But you're the first one I've ever sat down and talked to. You know? You make it… more real, maybe? Here we are, having a conversation and you're dead."

Spike sensed that there was something more she wanted to ask him, he just wasn't sure what it was. One way to find out. "What are you really wanting to know?"

Emma glanced at him shyly. "What do you mean?"

"There's something you're not sayin'. What?"

Emma paused, looking like she was struggling to find the right words. "I want to know what you feel like."

"Sorry?" He must not have heard her right.

"I wanted to touch your skin," she said hesitantly. "It's okay. I don't need to. I was just curious to see how differently you felt from us."

"Not much," he said, letting out an inward sigh of relief. This probably wasn't a big deal. Not like she asked him to strip naked or anything. "Go ahead," he said, going against a small slice of his better judgment.

"Seriously?"

"Just get on with it." The longer she waited, the more Spike felt that it was a bad idea.

Emma tentatively reached out and touched his face; her finger tracing from the corner of his eye, his cheekbone, down around his mouth, being careful to avoid it. She continued by running her fingers down his neck. Stopping briefly where his pulse point would have been. She finally reached his chest, her fingers lingering over his heart.

She slowly dropped her hand back into her lap. "Wow. You have soft skin. Not really cold like a fish, which is what I kinda expected, but without the fishy-slimey stuff. And the no heartbeat thing. That's just weird. You're dead, but you're not. Are you a fluke or what?"

Spike laughed. "Been called worse." He started to relax.

"And I won't even ask you to vamp out. Before I came down here I was thinking about asking you to do that." Emma stood. "But then I figured what was the point? You know? There's so much more I want to ask you, but I don't want to waste any more of your time. Thanks, Spike."

"Wasn't time wasted," he said, standing and pushing the chair back with his foot. "Time is something I got plenty of."

When Emma was halfway up the stairs, Spike called out, "Don't let Faith get to you. It's not a personal thing."

"Yeah, that's what I've been told."

XXXXX

Faith left her car parked in a casino parking garage. Gambling wasn't one of her things--she figured she had enough vices, and didn't need another one--but she wasn't sure where else to go.

Vices. What a joke! How many did Faith have left nowadays anyway? She had pretty much kicked the smoking one, so that didn't count anymore. She didn't drink nearly as much as she used to. Casual sex? It had been so long since it had been casual anything, she was surprised she even knew what it was.

Last sex she had was with Spike and there was nothing casual about it.

Spike.

Faith was surprised he hadn't sniffed her out by now. Guy was caught between giving her space and wanting her around all the time. Who knew why. Not like she was the kind of girl that made your day and gave you the warm fuzzies. Basically, she was a pain in the ass. But in her defense, not nearly as much as she used to be.

Then there was the whole Emma gig. Faith might have 'grown' over the last few months, but the thought of doing the apology thing still gave her the wiggins, especially to a junior slayer who looked up to her. Squeak thought of her as a role model or some shit like that. Faith? A role model?

And now, Faith found herself positioned in front of a slot machine, getting ready to pull a lever that would probably cost her another eight bucks, bringing her total losses up to fifty smackeroos.

Ting

Ting

Ting

One cherry. One lousy cherry. That wasn't worth shit.

Slaying was out of the question since she neglected to bring any stakes with her... too bad that didn't qualify as the dumbest thing she had done lately.

She was pretty sure if she scrounged around in her car long enough, she'd find one wedged between the seats or in the trunk.

Maybe it was time to look for that stake and do some slaying. She had a little too much pent-up energy and sitting here pulling a stupid lever wasn't helping matters… and slaying was definitely cheaper.

Now how did she get the rest of her money out of the slot machine?

XXXXX

"I'm going to look for her," Spike declared.

"You don't even know where she is," Buffy said. "She's Faith. She'll deal. And once she's dealt, she'll come back."

Emma just sat on the couch, watching. Having never been in a close relationship with anyone, observing the dynamics of Buffy and Spike, in contrast to the dynamics of Faith and Spike, was quite educational.

"I could go with him," she volunteered innocently.

Emma was greeted with simultaneous,"No's."

"Just a thought," she said, grinning.

"Spike, it's only been one day. One," she said, emphasizing her point by holding up her index finger. "Giles is supposed to be back anytime now and you know he wants to talk to you. Can't you just hang for a few and see what happens?"

Emma didn't know Spike well at all, but the set of his shoulders told her Buffy wasn't going to dissuade him from leaving.

"Buffy," he began, "You know how I feel about you, but I am going to look for Faith."

Spike loves Buffy, too? Jeez, maybe if she hung around long enough, he'd love her too. There seemed to be a pattern.

Maybe she'd asked the wrong person to… you know.

"Did you forget she has a car? How are you going to find her or catch up to her, even? She could be in another state by now."

"How do you think I got here?" Spike said, a teasing tone taking over his voice. "Took one of Angel's cars. Not a Viper, but it'll do. Why are you so set against this, anyway?"

Emma wondered what Angel was like. Knowing Buffy, Faith and now Spike, Emma suspected he was probably a hottie. Maybe he'd come for a visit too.

Buffy's head fell back and she let out a loud sigh, staring at the ceiling, almost as if she was asking for help.

She finally spoke, leveling her gaze on Spike. "I don't want to lose her. You spooked her and she ran off. I don't want to take the chance that she won't come back. We need her."

Emma was startled to realize Buffy was looking right at her.

"And Faith needs _us_," Buffy said. "Whether she knows it or not."

"Killing me here."

"Not my intention."

Emma had an idea. "How about he goes and looks for her, but he doesn't let her know he's there? That way he's happy knowing she's safe and all."

"She'll know," Spike said.

"True," admitted Buffy. "Do you feel that strongly about looking for her?"

"Forget who you're talkin' to?"

Buffy motioned for the door. "Go. It's between the two of you anyway."

Wow. Buffy caved. Emma didn't see that one coming.

"I'll be back," Spike said, heading toward the door, "and Faith will be with me."

XXXXX

Faith figured the odds of getting into any kind of trouble at the casino were slim.

That was about to change if she didn't get her money back.

Cash Out? Faith pressed the button, maybe this would do it. She waited for the clinking of her tokens as they hit the tray, but she didn't hear anything. Was this thing eating her money now? Her luck would never change for the better. She felt around in the tray opening to see if it was blocked or something.

"Piece of shit machine," she said, smacking it on the side.

"That only works on the telly."

Faith shot out of her chair, automatically on the defensive. She should've known. Matter of time.

"It's paperless now," Spike said, as he reached for a small piece of paper that resembled a grocery store receipt. "That way you don't have to lug around a ton of coins… or tokens."

Faith snatched the receipt out of his hand, being careful not to actually touch him. Contact right now would be bad... tossing him down and doing him in the middle of the casino, bad. "Cash is cash. Don't care what form it comes in." She glanced around. "Now what do I do with this?"

Spike reached for the receipt, caressing her finger in the process. Faith's hand felt all tingly where he had touched it.

Faith wasn't sure if she was getting more annoyed at Spike for being there or at her body for betraying her. That one little touch tossed Faith back into the past, when she and Spike were on their own. A certain hotel, post-slaying…

Spike had walked off with her receipt in his hand. Faith, knowing she had no choice, followed him. She tried not to notice the way he gracefully made his way through the crowd, smiling and nodding to people as he went. They ended up at another machine, this one looking like an ATM on steroids.

After waiting his turn in line, Spike slid the receipt into a slot slowly. Debating for only a moment, he reached out and pressed a couple buttons. In no time flat, cold hard cash shot out.

Cold. Hard. He wasn't actually cold, but he could definitely get hard. Faith shook her head, trying to get her mind back into the here and now. She tried to ignore the ringing in her ears and the butterflies that have somehow taken root in her stomach.

"Here you go," he said, handing Faith her money.

"Thanks." She jammed it into the back pocket of her jeans. "I was just leaving. Figured I'd patrol or something."

"S'pose I'll tag along."

Damn it. "Figured as much," Faith said and then added. "Patrolling. That's it." Faith wasn't exactly sure who she was trying to convince.

Spike smiled. "Whatever you say."

"I mean it. Patrolling. Slaying. Staking vampires. Nothing else."

"Got it."

They didn't even make it out of the elevator.

XXXXX


	13. Chapter 13

"Sometimes I hate you," she said, hitting the stop button in the elevator and rushing toward him all in one motion.

If he would have just kept talking.

Spike had started in on her as soon as they left the gaming area, all the way down the passage to the parking structure, up until they got onto the elevator and the door closed.

As soon as the door closed, so did Spike's mouth. There had been silence… for about a second and a half.

Faith still believed it was the silence that did her in.

The elevator had started feeling a little too small. The ride from the main floor of the casino to the third floor of the parking garage was a little too long.

And when Spike had brushed past her, moving to the opposite side of the elevator, for no reason Faith could comprehend, that had pretty much done it.

"Sometimes I really hate you," she repeated as the force of her body slammed him up against the wall, her lips capturing his in a deep kiss. She ignored the alarm that was not only sounding in her head, but in the elevator as well.

Spike deepened their kiss as his hands traveled down her back. Raising his head, he pulled her closer and Faith instantly felt his arousal. In a matter of seconds, Spike had taken Faith's shirt off and tossed it to the floor.

On instinct, she wrapped one leg around him. Spike followed her lead and grabbed the other one, pulling it around his waist and lifting her up in the process. The only thing supporting Faith was Spike, who was holding her tightly.

Her body reacting to his, Faith put her hands on his chest and pushed back; her lips never leaving Spike's, tongues still entwined. Her hand moved quickly down Spike's chest until she found what she was looking for. In one quick motion, Faith popped the button on Spike's jeans and yanked his zipper down.

Spike, not one to be outdone, untangled her legs from around his waist and let them drop to the floor. Faith almost lost her balance in the process.

Glad that she hadn't tied her boots too tight, Faith kicked them off and out of the way. Wanting only one thing, she began struggling with her own belt; an obstacle she would have to do away with and quickly.

Spike pushed Faith's hands out of the way just as she finished with her belt. He tore at the button on her jeans so roughly it ripped off in the process. Neither of them noticed as it bounced off the dingy elevator carpeting, coming to rest in a dust filled corner.

As Spike struggled to get Faith's jeans down, she reached for his shoulders. Spike hiked her up quickly and Faith lowered herself onto him in a heartbeat. Using the wall of the elevator for leverage, Faith made sure she had enough momentum going to take him in as deep and as fast as she could.

It was though her body had been waiting for him all along.

XXXXX

Having two cars made conversation impossible on the way back from the casino. Faith didn't mind and apparently Spike didn't either. He didn't even push or demand that she say something once they had arrived back at the house.

If Faith was being honest with herself, she would own up to the fact that she was reveling in how good she felt, remembering him inside her again, amazed at how relaxed she was. It was as though all the tension and frustration that had been building in her over the last few months had ebbed out of her body at the moment of climax.

Faith should've known that the glow wouldn't last. Walking in the front door, she could feel the tension that was in the air.

Buffy, Willow, Xander and Emma were all sitting in the living room. Giles was back, and from the looks of it, something major was going down.

Apart from a slight acknowledgement when they walked in, no one made a big deal that she and Spike had come in together. That pretty much confirmed her suspicions.

Faith lowered herself on the couch, finding a familiar comfort from Spike's presence next to her. She glanced up at him briefly before turning her attention to Giles.

"As I was saying…" Giles began.

"There's no way," Buffy said, standing and beginning to pace. "He's wrong."

Giles sighed. "I'm afraid not, Buffy. She let it slip to Andrew, who in turn called me."

"Why? Did he say why?" Buffy asked, she stopped pacing and returned to her spot next to Faith.

Damn. Girl had energy to give the Duracell Bunny a run for his money.

"She had to have a good reason, right? She knew we'd find out one way or another? I should just call and talk to her myself. I can't believe… why did she do it, Giles? It doesn't make any sense. Well, not total sense anyway."

"Apparently, she doesn't like Italy. She doesn't like being out of the country and away from the things she knows and is accustomed to," Giles said, inexplicably positioning himself between the slayers.

Faith suddenly felt a little claustrophobic so she slipped over to the wingback chair, giving Buffy and Giles more room. Her previous sense of being an outsider flickered briefly when she realized that Spike hadn't followed her.

"Buff, you know she's been through a lot. Losing people. New school, new everything. Enough was probably enough," Xander contributed.

"Stop defending her, Xander. Besides, I get all that. But what she did… It's huge. She lied and her lie led us here."

"Wait a minute," Faith said, interrupting. "Just to make sure I get what this is all about, Dawn is the one who left the BS message for Giles saying that all this stuff was going down here? Why? So she could leave pasta-town?"

"The Bit?" Spike added, sounding shocked and then he smirked; unsuccessful in hiding his appreciation of Dawn's machinations.

"From what I can deduce, yes," Giles said. "Andrew said that once Dawn found out they were not following us to Detroit, she started ranting about her plan blowing up in her face. She was not only stuck in Italy, she was stuck without her sister and the rest of you."

Buffy looked about ready to burst into tears. "I just can't believe…"

Giles put in hand gently on Buffy's shoulder. "She misses you, Buffy. Between Sunnydale and now Detroit…"

Buffy met his eyes. "But she planned this before Detroit."

"But during Sunnydale. That was probably enough for her," he said.

"So what do we do now?" Faith asked.

Giles removed his hand and turned his attention towards Faith. "As I stated previously, even without the anonymous tip, we would've found ourselves located here."

"But Dawn is still staying in Italy?" Willow asked. "Which I guess makes sense. Don't want to reward her for being sneaky by letting her come here."

Faith wasn't the only one who saw Giles shift uncomfortably.

"What?" Buffy demanded.

"As you are well aware, I have been absent the last couple of days. I was using the pretense of conducting some research," he said.

"Pretense?" Willow asked. "That can't be good."

"Actually," he paused. "I spent the majority of the time trying to convince her to go back. When I was unsuccessful at that, I secured a hotel room for both Andrew and Dawn who arrived on a flight from Italy yesterday morning," he said.

You could've heard a pin drop. "No way," Faith said.

"You flew them in?" Xander asked.

"No. Dawn booked a flight and then Andrew booked one so she wouldn't be traveling alone. I instructed them to stay at the hotel until I had the opportunity to tell Buffy what had transpired."

"And Kennedy?" Willow squeaked hopefully.

"I'm sorry, Willow. Kennedy remained behind to continue the training of the newest slayers."

"Oh," said Willow, her shoulders slumping.

Buffy still hadn't said anything.

"B? You okay?" Faith asked.

Buffy finally looked at her. "I'm fine. How can I be mad? I miss her." She shrugged.

"You're letting the Bit off easy then?" Spike asked.

Buffy smiled. "Oh, there will be no easy. I'll tell her what I think about her little plan… and then I'll tell her how much I missed her."

"Are they going to stay here too?" Emma asked.

Faith had almost forgotten she was there, she had been so quiet.

"Yes," Giles said, standing and referencing the clock on the mantel. "I have summoned a taxi and they should be arriving shortly."

"I was banished to the couch when I got here," Emma said. "Spike banished himself to the basement. We're running out of room. Unless…"

Faith watched Emma's eyes light up. Uh oh.

"I could always be banished with Spike," she added. "I'd be more than happy to give up the couch."

"Think again," Faith said.

Emma smiled. "Just a thought."

Faith stood up. "Look. I don't need the bedroom. Let Emma and Dawn have it. Give Andrew the couch. B's already in with Willow." Faith shrugged her shoulders. "Makes sense."

"Where will you…" Giles began.

Faith smiled when Buffy shot him a look.

"Very good then," Giles said, looking extremely uncomfortable if only for a moment.

"Guess we should start moving stuff around before they get here," Buffy said.

"Good idea, Buffy," Xander said.

"Won't take me long," Faith added.

"I'm already done," Willow said, smiling.

Faith was headed out of the living room when she heard Xander call out. "Hey Faith. Looks like you might be missing a button."

She had been _that_ close to making a clean getaway.

Faith turned back around and smiled sweetly. "Now that you mention it, Xander, I could take the couch and Andrew could bunk with you." The look on his face was priceless. "Or not. If you need me, I'll be in the basement."

Faith could hear Spike chuckling as they both made their way upstairs to get her things.

XXXXX


	14. Chapter 14

"You okay with this?" Spike asked.

It hadn't taken long for Faith to pack up her meager belongings. She had shoved a few things in a bag that Spike held for her and in no time flat they were in the basement.

"Wouldn't have suggested it if I wasn't," Faith said, rummaging around an old closet for a couple of hangers. Finding some, she hung what clothes she had up on an old nail sticking out of one of the walls.

"All I got is this," he said, indicating the futon. "Buffy brought down some sheets and blanket. Opens up and all; should be enough room."

"Do I look worried?" Faith asked, plopping herself down on the futon.

"No," he said sitting down next to her. "You're good then?"

Faith shook her head. It wasn't a direct question, but she knew it was only a matter of time before he said something. It was just how he was. "As good as I can be."

"As good as you can be or as good as you allow yourself to be?"

Faith didn't quite glare at him, but he got the point. Instead of answering him she directed his attention to her pants. "You ripped the button off my jeans," she said matter-of-factly.

"Totally accidental."

"Do you realize this is the second new pair that I've ruined since I've been here?" she asked him, not really expecting a reply. "First pair got the knees ripped out when I got blindsided."

Spike put his hand on her knee. "The jeans took the brunt?" He didn't stop there. He moved his fingers from her knee, to the outside seam of her pants, following it up her thigh, all the way to her waist, where he paused.

Faith felt a small shudder take her over as he continued his soft caresses, up over her waist, along her side, lingering on the slight swell of her breast and then finally enveloping her neck, pulling her into a kiss.

Spike slowly pushed her back so they were now both lying on the futon, his hips and legs straddling her. He rubbed his fingers across the spot where her button had been. "Maybe take these off then?"

"There is no maybe about it," Faith said breathlessly, reaching once again to free him.

Spike sat up on his knees so Faith could shimmy out of her pants. She watched as he did the same with his.

She didn't care when Spike trapped both of her hands over her head with his own. She didn't care when he thrust into her just hard enough to make her cry out and she didn't care that she came even quicker than she had in the elevator.

Faith especially didn't care when she heard all the commotion coming from upstairs telling her that Dawn and Andrew had finally arrived.

XXXXX

Faith took her time dressing. Spike would wait for her and she was in no hurry to see the spectacle of Buffy and her sister going off on each other. Sometimes their sisterly bickering could be fun to watch, but Faith was way too mellow for that right now.

Spike cocked his head slightly toward the ceiling and listened. "Seems to have quieted down."

"Might as well go up. If we don't, I'm pretty sure someone will be coming down."

"Pretty much what I was thinkin'."

Faith headed towards the stairs, taking two at a time. She stopped before opening the door. "Stop looking at my ass," she told him with a sly glance over her shoulder.

XXXXX

"Spiiiike!" Dawn screamed as soon as they opened the basement door.

Good thing Faith stepped aside. She had a sneaking suspicion that Dawn would have plowed right over her.

Spike, wasn't so lucky.

Dawn's hug sent them flying backwards. Spike managed to get his feet back under him. A good thing too, since they were headed right back towards the open doorway to the basement.

"You are real! I wouldn't believe until I saw it for myself," she said, hugging him even closer, if that was at all possible.

Faith was shocked when Dawn pulled back suddenly and punched him hard in the arm.

"That's for not telling us you were alive." She punched him again. "And you can deliver this one to Angel since he couldn't seem to find the time to tell us, either."

Dawn raised her arm to punch him again, but this time Spike stopped her. "I get the point. No more hitting."

"So you two are like a couple now, huh?" she asked, stepping back and crossing her arms in front of her chest, her question directed more towards Spike, but looking at Faith too. "Spike, you'll have to explain to me one day how this happened, because last time I checked, you were dead and you were still in love with Buffy."

"Bit…" he began.

"Don't. I am so mad at you right now I can't even see straight," Dawn said. "And you," she added, turning and looking at Faith, "Not like I needed any more reasons not to like you, but thanks for adding a new one to the list."

"Wait a minute…" Faith started, but didn't have time to finish.

Dawn glared and them both, spun on her heel and stormed off. She hadn't physically punched Spike again, but she might as well have.

Faith wasn't feeling all that mellow anymore, and wanted nothing more than to get out of the fuckin' house. But the hurt look on Spike's face couldn't very well be ignored either, and at this point, who really cared what she was feeling. Not like her feelings were normally taken into consideration anyway. Why should this time be any different?

"Don't worry about Dawn," she said to break the silence. "She doesn't know what she's talking about." Faith took his hand. "Besides, they're waiting for us and we know how testy Giles can be when we make him wait."

She could tell Spike wanted to say something, but Faith just couldn't deal with all the emotional turmoil right now, so she tugged lightly on his hand again and pointed him in the direction of the living room, not giving him the opportunity to say anything.

"I'll meet you there. I need to grab something," she said, turning and heading back towards the basement.

Faith didn't actually go downstairs; she closed the door and leaned against it, taking deep breaths to calm herself.

The idea of going and being in the same room with all of them was just too much. If Dawn said something to her again, she might not be able to control herself, the shock factor of being ambushed no longer an issue. But what if someone else jumped on her? Said something about her being a bitch who took Buffy's boyfriend away?

Boyfriend? What was this, high school? Faith hadn't finished high school, but she got a good look at it before she bailed and this was so… that.

Faith rolled her eyes.

Besides, Faith hadn't taken anyone away. He was already away when they hooked up. But if they did say something… Faith knew she'd say a bunch of shit she shouldn't and the entire thing would get totally outta control and she wasn't in the mood for that, either.

Faith was beginning to wonder _what_ she was in the mood for.

"Shit," she said, placing her hand on the doorknob. "Let's just get this over with."

She opened the door.

XXXXX

The first thing Faith noticed when she finally joined the others was Dawn babbling incoherently to Xander about something and Buffy hanging onto every word.

Faith didn't try to make out what the little twit was saying because she really didn't care. Well, that, and she had a suspicion that she and Spike might be the topic of said conversation.

Not like she and the brat got along anyway. The girl was chock-full of false memories that made her hate Faith. Yeah, the memories were true, monks made sure of that. Faith had done some pretty shitty things… beyond shitty… but what did it take to get Dawn to move on? Everyone else basically had, more or less. The past was the past already.

Shit.

On the other hand, Dawn wasn't shy about letting everyone know how she felt about Faith. The kid had good reasons not to be number one of the Fans-of-Faith list. Unlike a lot of people Faith had met over the years, Dawn wasn't afraid to tell Faith straight to her face what she thought about her. Which, okay, kudos... Dawn having the nerve to do that? Had to say something, didn't it? Of course having a sister for a slayer probably didn't hurt, either.

Emma was sitting on the floor, leaning against Andrew's chair while Spike and Giles were talking quietly in the back corner, away from the rest of them all civil-like.

Hell wasn't about to freeze over, was it? How long _was_ she hiding in the basement?

Giles glanced up and looked around. Probably noting that everyone was present and accounted for. After saying a few more words to Spike, he moved to the center of the room.

Let the meeting begin. Faith leaned casually against the nearest wall.

"Good to see we're all here," Giles said. "I am assuming we are settled in? Good! I have some information about a sect of demons determined to open the hellmouth using an old ritual." Giles glanced at Dawn and Emma quickly and then continued speaking. "It is true. Virgin blood is required to be successful in accomplishing this. Once the seal is opened…"

"Hell on earth, yet again," Buffy said. "How do we stop them?"

"By not giving them any virgins!" Andrew shouted suddenly. "That sounds like an excellent plan to me." Then he amended his comment quickly. "Not that it would affect me in any way."

"Oh, great," Faith said. "Now we got a virgin slayer, a virgin key," she motioned towards Andrew, "And a virgin… Well, I don't know what the _hell_ he is."

"I am a Watcher-In-Training. Specializing in the survival tactics of our dear slayers. I assist in training and in the process, share my newly obtained knowledge, using the numerous tomes I have reviewed," he lowered his voice, "and the help of Mr. Giles," raising his voice again, "to ensure that I am indeed aiding in fighting the _evil. _My goal is to help our slayers extinguish it and if I need to fight along side any of you, I will. Anything for the greater good. I am here to help where required. To lend a shoulder to cry on and a helping hand…"

Faith couldn't take anymore. "Shut it already! From what I can tell, you're still a pain in the ass. No wonder you're still a virgin." Looking at Giles, she added, "Maybe we should just sacrifice him and be done with it?"

Emma threw in, "He's a geek!"

"Hey!" Andrew sounded shocked.

Emma snorted. "Like it's not true. I can tell by just looking at you. You didn't even need to talk. Evil? You? Yeah, right." She rolled her eyes.

"Oh, look who's talking, Ms. Virgin Slayer. All slaying and no…"

"Since we have so many _special_ virgins living here, we might as well have one big orgy… then we'd all be out of the running and the demony guys could find some run-of-the-mill type virgin to use," Dawn said coolly.

"Who are you?" Buffy asked her, a look of disbelief with a touch of anger on her face.

"Well, not with you, Willow," Dawn glanced at Faith, "her, Andrew, Xander or Giles."

"What about me?" Emma asked.

"Talk to Xander," Dawn said.

Saucer eyeballs, please, with a side of Emma's jaw on the floor.

Xander shuffled his feet nervously.

Faith just shook her head, letting the _her_ comment roll off her back. Faith realized who Dawn had left off her list, and she was waiting to see how long it took to register on Buffy's radar.

Apparently, not very long.

"Dawn, you are _not_ sleeping with Spike," she said, glaring at her sister.

Dawn shrugged her shoulders. "Why not? Everyone else has."

_Ouch_, Faith thought. _Another direct hit_. The kid just won't let up.

"Enough!" Giles said loudly. "Can we _please_ get back on topic? We are dealing with a Nigriv demon. Possibly more than one. We have very strong," Giles stopped and cleared his throat, "my apologies, but we have the purest blood in our midst. You can be assured that they are well aware of this. We need to figure out how this will be dealt with. We will not accomplish this if we keep bickering amongst ourselves."

Then, shocking the absolute shit out of Faith, Giles added, "And there will be no orgies. Nothing good ever comes out of them. Trust me... I know."

XXXXX


	15. Chapter 15

The silence was oppressive as Faith sat with Buffy and Giles, pouring over city maps again. She was tempted to tear the stupid things up, grab her stake, and go look for something lumpy to slay. She settled on twirling her pencil around her fingers and trying not to sigh too loudly.

Buffy finally broke the silence. "How hard can these demons be to find? I mean, come on. How many virgin-sacrificing demons can one city have? Especially ones hanging out with the majority of Detroit's future dust bunnies?"

"Do we even know where the opening to the actual hellmouth is?" Faith asked. "Do we go and look for another library or somethin'?"

"It doesn't need to be a library, but yes, our first priority is to identify the actual opening," Giles said, looking at the Tweety Bird clock, "which you will do shortly, when you both go out on an early patrol."

"Me and B? During the day?" Faith asked.

"Yes," Giles said. "It is my belief that a daytime patrol would be a benefit to us. Hopefully, it will give you both more time to scout out the area and make notes on anything you might find… not quite right, for a lack of a better phrase."

"No pressure or anything." Faith leaned back hard in her chair, accidentally snapping the pencil she was holding in two. "We don't even know when this ritual is supposed to take place." She tossed the wooden remains on the table.

"That is why time is of the utmost importance," Giles said.

"Is that a good idea? Faith and I going out together?" Buffy asked. "Shouldn't one of us stay here in case something happens?"

Giles said, "I've spoken with both Spike and Willow, and they will stay here to ensure the safety of our houseguests."

Faith stood. "Well, let's go then!"

Finally! Faith was beyond ready to do something other then sitting around, staring at lines on paper and breaking pencils in half.

XXXXX

"I can't believe…"

Faith laughed. "First time you've been propositioned by a hooker, huh?"

"I'm a girl. And she was a girl and it's the middle of the day!"

"Like that makes a difference. Money is money, B. They don't care where or when they get it or who they get it from."

Faith caught the 'What do you mean, there's no such thing as Santa Claus?' look on Buffy's face. Jeez, how B managed to be the one runaway in L.A. who avoided the seediest part of city life was beyond her. "Eh, besides B, how sure are you that it was a girl?"

Which only led to B walking faster. Faith picked up her own pace. So much for her attempt to add a little levity. "Wait up, already."

"What's down this way?" Buffy asked.

Abrupt change of subject much?

"Not an alley for once," Faith said. "What street is it? Michigan Avenue? Only one way to find out." Without waiting for Buffy's approval, Faith turned and headed down the street.

"Damn," Faith said after they had been walking less than a half an hour. "That's huge and deserted."

"What is it?" Buffy asked.

Faith went to the curb, quickly looked both ways, and trotted across the street. When she realized Buffy wasn't following, Faith called over her shoulder, "Come on, B. This'll be fun."

"Gotta be some way to get in there," Faith said, scanning the front of the old baseball stadium. The old-fashioned "_D_" embossed across the front and a painted tiger around every corner.

"Why do we want to get in there?" Buffy asked. "We're supposed to be taking notes, not breaking and entering. At least not yet."

"It's big, it's empty, and it's sitting on a hellmouth. Besides, I'm not much of a note taker. And have you ever seen their stats? Gotta be some bad mojo coming from this place," Faith said.

Buffy looked surprised. "You know their stats?" she asked. "I didn't know you liked baseball."

"I don't. Xander and I were talkin' one day. He told me. It's a guy thing. ERA's. Strike outs. I'm actually surprised I even remember any of it."

"You remember actual stats?" Buffy asked, sounding amazed.

Wow. So that's what B looked like when she was impressed. That look might take some getting used to… especially when it was aimed in Faith's direction.

"I didn't listen that close, B. I just remember that they pretty much sucked."

Faith glanced around quickly to see if they were being watched. Aside from the normal crowd of people on any given day, Faith didn't see anyone who could cause them any kind of trouble. Not like it was the type of crowd that would run to the cops if they saw something amiss anyway, that's for sure.

With a devious gleam in her eye, Faith jumped up and shimmied over the locked gate that surrounded the place.

"Come on."

Faith didn't need to hear it to know B had let out a huge sigh before she joined Faith on the other side.

"What now? We have all these," Buffy pointed to one of the entrances, "roll-top-thingies all over the place. How do we break through those?"

Faith smiled. Walking halfway around the building to a less conspicuous spot, she stopped in front of yet another roll-top door. "Sometimes a slayer needs more than just a piece of wood." Faith grabbed a padlock and using her knife as a pry bar, broke the lock off. The four other locks holding the door shut were quick to follow.

"That would be how," Buffy said, joining Faith as they both bent down and pulled up the roll top door high enough so they could wriggle underneath it.

"Yuck," Buffy said as they emerged from the other side.

Faith reached over and swatted a bunch of cobwebs out of Buffy's hair. "Chill. I got 'em outta your hair."

"Thanks," she said, reaching over and flicking something out of Faith's hair.

"What? Mine too?" Faith asked, shaking her head.

"Not quite," Buffy said. "I got the web. You got the spider."

"Shit! Did you get it out?"

Laughing, Buffy said, "Look at the big tough slayer, afraid of a spider!"

"I'm not _afraid _of spiders," Faith said slightly offended. Faith wasn't afraid of anything. "At least I didn't scream like a baby girl."

Buffy looking confused. "Neither did I!"

"I'm just saying…" Faith said with a grin.

The place had been deserted awhile. No doubt about it. Anything that wasn't nailed down was gone. Wasn't hard to make out where the concession areas used to be. Faith wasn't really concerned with those. If she was a vampire and this place was left abandoned, there were better places than a beer stand to take up residence.

At least there was finally one familiar thing - Faith's vampire senses were on overload. Smiling, she asked Buffy, "You got your tingle back, didn't you?"

"Oh, yeah."

They were standing directly on top of the Hellmouth, now all they needed to do was to find out where the opening was hidden.

"Let's go," Faith said.

Buffy stuffed the map into the back pocket of her jeans. "Guess we won't be needing this anymore."

"Nope. Found it on our own."

Buffy laughed. "Giles will be so proud."

XXXXX

"I may be a newbie," Emma said, "but I think this is a bad idea." Dawn was so going to get her into trouble.

"I'm with the virgin," Andrew said, excitedly and then clarified his statement quickly. "The slayer virgin, not the used-to-be-a-key virgin. We have our instructions and no matter how difficult we believe they may be to follow, we should obey them." He glanced around nervously. "Besides, if Buffy found out, we'd be in big trouble."

Dawn rolled her eyes. "I haven't seen anything. Buffy and what's-her-name are out patrolling. They even said themselves that it was dull around here. What can it hurt if we go out and sightsee for a little while?"

Emma decided to let the 'what's her name' comment slide. Obviously Dawn had Faith issues, but this wasn't the time to bring it up. Instead, she said, "Still, it's getting dark."

"You most of all," Dawn said, pointing her finger at her, "don't need anyone's approval. You're not a prisoner or anything."

"She has a Porsche, doesn't she?" Andrew chimed in thoughtfully.

"Yes, and it only has two seats. There goes that plan," Emma said, trying her best to stop Dawn from making what could turn out to be a huge mistake.

"Guess that means I'm not going anywhere," Andrew said. "Too bad. I was looking forward to roaming around another hellmouth in the dark."

Dawn was persistent. "Andrew, you need to distract Spike for us so we can sneak out."

"Me? Distract Spike?"

"What if I say I won't do it?" Emma asked desperately. "My car. If I won't drive, we don't go anywhere."

Dawn's voice softened. "It's not a big deal. Really. We're not going out to get drunk and get laid! We're going out to just look around. A drive, maybe get something to eat. See. No big. So, you in?"

"Excuse me," Andrew said. "If it's not a big deal, then why am I keeping Spike occupied so you can sneak out?"

"Yeah!" Emma almost shouted, then quietly added, "Why are we sneaking if it's not a big deal?"

"Spike would want to come with us." Dawn sighed deeply. "He's cool and everything, but he'd ruin it and I'm too old for a chaperone."

Emma weighed the pros and cons. Dawn was gonna go out, no matter what. She would be safer if she went with her. And its not like it was the middle of the night or anything. It was still pretty early.

"Fine. We'll go out," Emma said. Looking at Andrew added, "Andrew, keep Spike busy. We'll be outta here in less than five minutes."

They didn't even make it out of the kitchen.

"Nice try, Bit," Spike said, standing in the doorway, his arms crossed in front of his chest. "Vampire hearing. Remember? You're not going anywhere." Spike nodded over his shoulder, continuing, "Now, we're all going into the other room and watching the telly until Faith and Buffy get back."

Dawn didn't look too happy, but Emma was beyond relieved. Last thing she wanted to do was tick off the other two slayers.

"You heard what he said," Emma added. "Let's go watch the telly."

"Is someone going to make popcorn or did Faith eat all of that, too?" Andrew asked in a somewhat whiney voice, following close behind them.

"What is it with you two and food?" Emma asked, plopping down on the couch.

"Let me tell you, dear _childe_. We were in the middle of the battle of our lives. In Sunnydale, on a hellmouth quite similar to this one as matter of fact, battling _The First Evil_…"

"Faith ate his Hot Pocket," Spike said, interrupting. "Prat hasn't gotten over it."

"How do you know?" Andrew asked, shocked. "You weren't even there. I had a note on it and everything."

"What did I tell you?" Spike said, sitting down next to Emma. "After everything the lot of us had been going through, he was worried about a microwaveable piece of dough. I'm partial to the Philly cheese steaks, myself." He looked at Dawn. "You going to pick the movie out, Nibblet?"

Dawn huffed and flounced out of the chair she was sitting in. "Might as well. Not like I have anything else better to do."

"That's my girl," Spike said.

"We'll see the town tomorrow…" Emma began.

"During the day," Spike added quickly.

"But then you can't join us." Dawn pointed out.

"Didn't appear too heartbroken about stepping out without me tonight," Spike countered.

Emma felt herself tensing up. They weren't going to fight, were they?

"While we're out, could we maybe stop for some Hot Pockets?"

Emma marveled at Andrew's one track mind and was grateful for it at the same time. His Hot Pocket obsession derailed the argument train Spike and Dawn were beginning to board.

"I couldn't buy them in Italy," Andrew added weakly.

XXXXX


	16. Chapter 16

Faith and Buffy covered the perimeter of the old ball park. The only choice they now had was to work their way inward and hope that they'd find something before something found them.

"April 20, 1912? Opening Day?" Faith asked. "Damn. This place is beyond ancient."

"They took almost everything else outta here, surprised they left a plaque," Buffy said.

"They left some signs too," Faith said. She started laughing. "Like that one." She pointed over Buffy's shoulder. "'Visitor's Clubhouse – No Visitors Allowed.' They might've sucked, but at least they had a sense of humor."

Buffy stopped suddenly, Faith almost bumped into her. "Did you see Titanic, the movie?" she asked.

"B, that falls into sappy shit. Didn't see it. Not like I needed to. Hit an iceberg. Ship sank. People died. Not much more to it than that."

"Didn't it sink in April, 1912?"

Faith started walking again. "How would I know that?" Faith snorted. "Who knows? I guess we could have Giles cross reference it or something. If there's anything to find, he's the guy," Faith said offhandedly. "You thinkin' an entire 'April, 1912 jinx' or something?"

Buffy laughed.

"What?" Faith demanded.

"You just said 'cross reference'."

"Repeat it and I'll kill ya."

"What is this place?" Buffy asked, changing the subject.

Faith followed Buffy into another room. "Don't know. Looks like a room right out of The Shining though. Now that's a movie."

The room had a disgustingly dirty, white dropdown ceiling that was missing tiles. Faith suspected that back in the day, the tiles probably were as white as teeth on a toothpaste commercial, but now… not even close. The walls were painted a bright pumpkin orange, one of the colors of the team that used to inhabit this place, but it had begun chipping off in places years ago. There was a bar made out of oak on the farthest wall

Faith walked over to it. "Too bad it's not stocked. I could go for a beer."

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

"Maybe." Faith shrugged. "Never was into sports… sports guys maybe, but not sports. Never been inside an actual stadium until now. Look at this place. You can feel it, what it used to be like. Families heading out to a baseball game, souvenirs, dads getting blitzed on overpriced beer, the drunken fights in the stands," Faith swept her arm around, "Now look at it, tossed away like a used…"

"I get it!" Buffy said quickly. "No need to finish that sentence."

"Xander said that it used to be a single decked stadium, and like twenty years after they built it, they made it a double-decker. Why didn't they just make it double-decked in the first place?"

"Be easier to search if it only had one deck," Buffy added, sounding tired. "No way we can search this entire place by ourselves."

"Looks worse than it is, B. You can pretty much eliminate the stands. No one calls them home. Not shady enough.

"Maybe not during the day," Buffy said. "Just because they can't hang around twenty-four/seven doesn't mean they're not there at night. Faith don't you realize that we could have… what did you say this stadium holds?"

Faith wasn't quite sure. "I don't know. Over twenty-thousand? Or was that before they doubled-decked it? I can't remember."

Buffy continued, "We could have twenty thousand or more, of them sitting out there right now, waiting for their virgin to sacrifice."

"Like a virgin is just gonna walk into the place? Besides, we checked out the catwalks leading to the bleachers. Didn't look like anyone has been up there in awhile. You can see a lot of the stadium from there."

"How about those cagey things we saw on the field?" Buffy asked.

"The bullpens?"

"Again," Buffy said. "How do you know they're bullpens?"

Faith smiled. "Xander got bored one day and hopped on Red's computer. He searched the Internet looking for anything he could find about this place. Only reason I remembered what they're called is because I went into this whole cage thing... Let's just say it's not something he'll forget anytime soon," Faith said. "So what do you want to do now?"

"We've been here for hours," she said. "We can either hang out here for a little while to see if anything happens…"

"Or go back and talk to Giles," Faith finished for her.

"He's the guy," Buffy agreed.

XXXXX

Getting away from Tiger Stadium hadn't been as easy as getting into it. Nighttime had fallen over the Motor City. Faith and Buffy had dispatched their fair share of the undead-uglies before they made their way back to Faith's car.

"I'm hungry," Faith said as she opened the door. She had seen a bar on their way downtown and she had a wicked craving for a bar burger. There was just something about them being all big and greasy.

"Isn't it kind of late?" Buffy asked.

"Nope. Bars are open until at least 2:00 o'clock. No way it can be that late already."

"I am kind of hungry," Buffy admitted.

The bar Faith had eyeballed was pretty close to the house where they were staying, far away from downtown. That was one of the reasons she picked it. Figured it would give Buffy less to object to if they were close to home.

Faith was surprised to see that it wasn't all that busy. "That's what you get for barring in the 'burbs."

"What?"

"There's nobody here."

"It's late. All the 'burbettes are at home in bed."

Faith walked straight to the bar and hoisted herself up on a stool. "Too late to order a burger?" she asked the bartender.

"For two beautiful women on a Wednesday, it's never too late. With everything?" Faith glanced at Buffy quickly and then nodded to him. "I'll be right back," he said.

"Gotta loved the 'burbs," she said to Buffy who sat down next to her.

"You are so flirting with the bartender," Buffy said.

"It got us a burger didn't it?"

Didn't take long for the burgers and fries to show up. "Thank God," Faith said as her dinner was placed in front of her.

"Good idea," Buffy said, taking another bite of hers. "This is mighty tasty."

"Told you," Faith said, picking up her beer and taking a nice long swallow of it. "This makes it taste better. You should've ordered one."

Faith saw Buffy physically shudder. "Beer and me? Let's just say we don't get along."

"What happened? Wake up naked in some guy's bed or something?"

"Worse."

"For you? How could anything be worse than that?"

XXXXX

"Cavemen? No shit!" Faith exclaimed.

"Ever since, beer is so bad. I can't even stand the smell," Buffy said, with one final shudder.

Faith smiled. "I could see how that could happen." And then she watched as Buffy's smile slowly disintegrated and she started fiddling with her napkin.

"What?" Faith finally asked her.

"What? What?"

"Don't 'what' me. Now what?"

"Not sure now's the time."

Faith looked around the bar. They were the only ones left and the bartender was busy watching ESPN. "B, this is about as good as it's going to get."

Buffy heaved a sigh. "I talked to Dawn. She told me what happened. Not that she needed to, the house isn't that big."

"Wonderful," Faith said, downing the rest of her beer and suddenly wishing she had a smoke.

"She's really upset."

"You think?"

"The relationship between Spike and me, it was complicated. Throw Dawn into the mix and… well, it gets even more complicated."

"B, we've been through all of this. Why does everyone around here insist on bringing up stuff that's over and done with?" Faith briefly flashed on the discussion she and Giles had had when they first got to the city. "Another beer," she called out to the bartender, then catching his quick glance at the clock, added, "Don't worry, it'll be the last. You gotta smoke I can bum by any chance?"

Five minutes later, Faith was drinking another beer and enjoying the cigarette he had given her.

"Just because I'm okay with it," Buffy continued. Faith thought she saw a flicker of something pass across Buffy's face, but Buffy continued talking, "It doesn't mean Dawn is okay with it. It might take her awhile to deal. Can you maybe give her time to do that?"

"What did I do? I haven't done anything but avoid her. She needs to let up on Spike a little bit though. He's a little more involved with the entire," Faith used air quotation marks, "feelings thing'. I don't give a shit. Give a shit and it ends up biting you in the ass. My ass has been bitten one time too many as it is. Don't need anymore scars." There it was again, that fleeting moment of something crossing Buffy's face. "Is there something you're not saying?"

"Faith, some people are more sensitive to things than you are. I'm not asking for a lot. I'm not requesting you to get your ass bit. I'm just asking for you to tread lightly around Dawn. I will talk to Dawn. Maybe we can handle it a little bit from both sides, that way we won't need to worry about some huge fight breaking out between us when no one's ready for it. We have enough battles in our lives; we don't need to be fighting amongst ourselves on top of it."

"Fine. Yes. Whatever," Faith said.

Buffy stood up. "Are you ready to go? I know I am."

Snagging another smoke before they left, Faith said, "Let's go."

XXXXX

Buffy and Faith walked into the house quietly. They decided after their little snack they should patrol for awhile, now it was close to sunrise, and they didn't want to chance waking anyone.

Buffy watched as Faith smiled when she saw Spike crashed out in a chair. Emma and Dawn were sleeping on opposite ends of the couch, Andrew was sleeping on the floor and snow had taken over the television screen.

Faith glanced at Buffy and shook her head. "And we thought we had a long night."

In more ways than one, Buffy thought, but said, "No kidding. Do we wake 'em or leave 'em?"

"Not sure what you're doing," Faith whispered, walking over to Spike. "I'm going to get some sleep."

Faith whispered quietly in his ear, Buffy's slayer hearing couldn't quite pick up what she said, but Spike opened his eyes slowly, his mouth spreading into a wide grin. "'Fraid I might get a fiery wake-up, eh?" he said, indicating the wide open curtains. "No worries, love. Vampire alarm would've gone off long before that would happen. Like the concern, though."

Faith smiled and shook her head. "Try getting up without waking everyone else up." She looked at Buffy. "Tell Giles we'll talk later."

"Yeah," Buffy said, quietly.

"See ya."

Like the concern though.

Buffy tried not to watch as the two of them made their way out of the room and downstairs. She tried to ignore the gnawing feeling that began to take root in the pit of her stomach.

"Probably the burger," she said, not sure who she was trying to convince.

XXXXX

"How'd it go?" Spike asked as Faith peeled off her jeans and shirt, tossing them to the floor. "Find anything?"

"Besides a kick-ass burger, a couple beers and a smoke or two?" she said, smiling. "Or did you mean an abandoned baseball stadium that seems to be home to our latest and greatest hellmouth?" she said, climbing onto the futon and pulling the blankets up to her waist. "No doubt we found it. We just gotta find the seal and figure out what happens next."

Faith rolled onto her side and looked at Spike. "Anything interesting happen here?"

Spike ditched his own outerwear and joined Faith. "Besides the kiddies wanting to sneak out of the house for some sightseeing?"

"You're kidding me?"

"Bit's idea. Be proud, Junior You tried to talk her out of it," he said, pulling Faith into his arms, her head now resting partially on his shoulder.

Faith yawned. "I'm proud. B will be pissed," she said, her eyes slowly fluttering closed. She barely felt Spike's lips on hers as she slowly drifted off to sleep.

XXXXX

"I'm drowning in footwear!"

Spike's shout roused Faith from a deep sleep. "What?" She rolled over and saw that he was still sleeping, so she gave him a quick shove to wake him up.

"Hm?" he said, rolling toward her, his eyes opening slowly. "Somethin' wrong?"

"You're drowning in footwear? Is that some weird fetish I don't know about?" she asked.

"Drowning in footwear?"

"That's what you shouted out in your sleep. Don't look at me weird, you're the one who said it."

"Don't remember," he said, stretching. "You sure that's what I said?"

"Who knows," Faith said, she sat up. "I was asleep. Could've been anything. And besides, I was too busy dreaming about bright lights and rooms where I can't actually see anyone. Me and B lurking about. I've got my own problems," she said, trying to swing her legs off the side of the futon, but had a better thought instead.

Faith found herself straddling Spike's hips. "You know, it's kinda quiet upstairs and if we really, really tried, I think we can be kinda quiet down here," she said, grinding herself into him lightly. "What do you think? Got it in ya?"

"'Spect we can do something along those lines… can't guarantee the quiet," he said, the teasing tone leaching out of his voice, the husky sound of sexuality taking over.

"That's not our problem," she said.

XXXXX


	17. Chapter 17

Faith rinsed off the last of the soap, cursing the shower for not being big enough for two. With a quick rub of the towel and some clean clothes, Faith went upstairs, leaving Spike to fend for himself.

Wanting nothing more than a hot cup of java, Faith headed into the kitchen. She was tempted to turn back around when she saw that she wouldn't be alone.

"Dawn." Faith walked over to the cupboard to grab a filter and coffee, extremely grateful that the coffeemaker was one of those that brewed an entire pot in less than three minutes. She could deal with Dawn for three minutes.

Faith wasn't surprised when Dawn didn't answer her right away. It probably was for the best anyway. Faith wasn't in the mood to get into an argument with the youngest Summers.

"I don't hate you."

Faith stopped spooning the coffee, the laden scoop hanging midway between the can of coffee and the filter basket.

It wasn't often that Faith was left completely speechless, but the brat had pulled it off. That simple comment, if acknowledged, could lead to an entire discussion Faith had no plans on ever having.

Faith continued to scoop.

"I said, I don't hate you," Dawn repeated, a little louder this time.

Faith sighed heavily, slipped the basket into the coffee maker, finished pouring water into the reservoir, and switched the machine on.

Three minutes.

"I heard," she finally said, turning around to meet Dawn's eyes.

"Does that surprise you?" Dawn asked, sliding next to Faith and grabbing her own coffee cup out of the cupboard.

Faith arched an eyebrow. Runt drinks coffee?

The silence was deafening. Faith mentally wished that someone, anyone, would show up to save her from her never-ending run of bad luck.

Nobody magically appeared in the doorway. What a surprise. Dawn continued to stand there, looking at Faith, holding her coffee cup and not saying a word.

"What do you want, Dawn?" she finally asked.

"What makes you think I want something?"

"You're all hating me one day and not so much the next. Tends to cause a little confusion."

Faith stepped aside as Dawn grabbed the coffeepot, cutting off its fresh-brewed flow, and poured herself some. Dawn placed the pot back on the burner and began spooning sugar into her yellow mug. Or more accurately, almost spooning sugar. Faith watched with disbelief as Dawn repeatedly scooped and dumped the sugar back into the bowl, finally settling on a heaping teaspoon that looked identical to the other twenty she had debated and tossed aside.

After what seemed like a lifetime to Faith, Dawn poured some cream into her mug, stirred it all up and tossed the used spoon into the sink.

Faith could've cheered when Dawn finally snatched up her cup and sat back down at the kitchen table.

Felt a hell of a lot longer than three minutes.

Faith followed Dawn's lead reluctantly, knowing she'd need to deal with her sooner or later. Faith figured sooner would just get it out of the way quicker, so Faith sat down next to Dawn, with her own coffee. She sipped it, waiting to hear what shit was about to be unleashed.

"Emma and I were talking," she began. "She told me I was being kind of hard on you and she didn't understand why. So I told her all the bad things you had done since I've known you and even the stuff you did before I knew you."

Faith felt heart beat quicken. If she wanted Squeak to know all her deep dark secrets, she would've told Emma herself.

"Thanks for that," she finally said through gritted teeth. "Trying to get her to join the 'Let's hate Faith' party?"

"I said, I don't hate you," Dawn repeated.

"And I think you're full of shit."

Dawn sighed loudly, glaring at Faith. "I don't hate you, but I'm not saying I like you either. I think if we're going to live together, we should try to get along."

Try to get along? What in the hell was she talking about?

"In case you haven't noticed," Faith said, "I haven't done jack shit to you since you got here, but you've been the queen of the 'tude. You might want to listen to your own little pep talk there, Junior."

Dawn laughed. "Haven't done anything? Do you even know how to have sex without letting an entire household full of people hear you doing it?"

"Maybe you should stop listening outside other people's doors," Faith shot back, what was left of her calmness disappearing as quickly as a cigarette ash in the wind.

"I knew you'd be a bitch about the whole thing," Dawn shouted, jumping up and spilling her coffee on the table in the process.

Now it was official. Faith's resolve to stay cool was now lying in a puddle along with the spilled coffee and she shouted into Dawn's sullen face. "No way! You little shit! You are not going to pull this with me." Faith took a deep breath and lowered her voice before continuing. "You got issues with me. You got issues with Spike. I get that. Doesn't take a genius to know that you want Spike with your sister. But he's not. Get over it." Faith dropped back down in the chair, grabbing her coffee mug off the table.

"How is this my fault?" Dawn demanded. "You're the one being the big ol' ho bag, making your move on Spike when Buffy was gone, not bothering to tell any of us that he was still alive. Buffy went to Sunnydale to help you guys and you and Spike were being all sneaky. Couldn't you have taken five minutes out of your life-of-porn to have told my sister that he was still alive?"

Faith was having a bad case of _déjà vu_.

"I've already been through this. More than once, as a matter of fact. If you want to know how things went down, go ask B. I'm not getting into it again." Faith stood up, throwing her mug into the kitchen sink, not giving a shit that it was ceramic and that it broke into tiny yellow pieces.

"What is going on here?" Buffy asked, her eyes darting from the broken cup to Dawn's sullen face. "Dawn?"

Faith rolled her eyes. Now someone decides to show up.

"You're lucky we had the chat, B," Faith said, turning around and leaning against the counter, her fists clenched at her sides. "You were right about baby sis still having you and Spike issues. And if she takes it out on me one more time, I'll deck her."

"You're not going to hurt my sister, Faith. Ever," Buffy said. "Do you hear me? Because whatever you might do to her, will come back on you so much harder you won't know what hit you. Why couldn't you just give her a little space like I asked?"

"Oh, for shit's sake," Faith said, refusing to look at Dawn. "B, I'm not doing this with you. Talk to the brat and then come talk to me if you want the truth." Faith mumbled under her breath, "Wonderful way to start the day."

"This wasn't exactly how your day _started_, now was it Faith?"

Leave it to Dawn to dish out an extra scoop of sarcasm.

Faith stormed out of the kitchen, past Buffy, not caring that she had crashed into the other slayer's shoulder, hard. Anyone else would've been knocked off their feet.

Let B come after her. She'd settle for kicking her ass.

If Faith had prepared for all possibilities, she would've grabbed her keys before leaving the basement. Too bad she had left them in the pocket of her other jeans. God! She was slacking!

Faith grabbed the doorknob to the stairs, swung it open and almost crashed into Spike.

"What…?" he began.

"Keys," she said, trying to force her way past him.

"The hell is going on?" Spike finished, jutting his head towards the kitchen. He grabbed her arm and wouldn't let her go.

"I don't have the time or the energy for this right now," she said, pulling her arm out of his grasp. "That little shit…" Faith couldn't finish. The more she thought about it, the more pissed-off she got. Faith needed to hit something. Break something bigger than an ugly coffee mug. If Spike didn't watch out, he was going to find himself lying at the bottom of the stairs with her boot prints on his back.

"Come on," he said, taking her arm again. He dragged her back into the kitchen, keeping both of them in the shadows.

"Spike…" Faith began.

"So?" Spike asked. Dawn and Buffy were sitting at the kitchen table. Faith could tell they had been talking. Someone had cleaned up the spilt coffee.

"That's what I'm trying to find out," Buffy said.

"Someone mind pulling the blinds so I can get out of this corner?"

Spike hung onto Faith's arm. Guess he didn't mean her.

Buffy got up and closed the blinds in the yellow-kitchen-from-hell.

"Thanks, love."

Buffy only nodded before rejoining Dawn.

Walking to the table, still keeping Faith in his clutches, Spike asked, "What is this all about?"

"Can you let go of my arm?" Faith asked, trying to jerk her arm out of his grip.

"Promise not to run?"

Faith leveled her gaze on him. "Let. Go. Of. My. Arm." Spike finally released her and Faith chose to sit instead of leaving. She picked a chair at the opposite end of the kitchen table, positioning herself as far away from the rest of them as she could.

"Okay, Bit."

"Don't call me that," Dawn said sharply, cutting him off.

"Okay, Dawn. Care to explain?" Spike asked softly.

"I don't owe you anything," she muttered.

"Dawn, don't." Buffy said.

Faith bit back a sarcastic barb as the part of her brain that got its jolt of caffeine realized that this entire scene had nothing to do with her.

Spike sat down next to Dawn. "Can't help you if you don't tell us what's bothering you."

"Why do you care?" Dawn asked. "I mean it. Why do you even care, Spike?"

"Dawn," Buffy said for the second time.

"No." Dawn turned to Buffy. "If he cared about us, he wouldn't have let us think he was dead all that time. If you care about somebody…" she turned back toward Spike, "if you love somebody, you don't lie to them like that. You tell them not to be sad anymore. You tell them that they don't need to cry themselves to sleep anymore because they think their best friend is dead. You don't let someone continue having nightmares about people being on fire and screaming out in pain before they disappear forever. You don't let them lie awake at night wishing that they would've told them what they meant to you, not being able to sleep because you're afraid they didn't know and now you'll never have the chance to tell them."

Dawn's eyelashes were beginning to glisten with unshed tears.

"After everyone who died… everything's that happened…" Dawn stopped, breathing hard before she finally finished. "It's not fair for someone to be alive and not say something to the people who cared about them the most."

The dam burst. Faith watched as Buffy took her crying kid sister in her arms and held her for what felt like forever.

Faith was tempted to leave during the waterworks, but one glance at Spike told her it wasn't over yet. She wasn't sure how much time had passed, but Dawn's tear reservoirs finally started to dry up.

Faith shifted in her chair, suddenly feeling uncomfortable with all the sisterly togetherness.

Dawn began talking sullenly, looking directly at Spike. "And even though you tried to rape my sister, I still don't understand why you'd do that," she said, glaring at him. "But since Buffy has forgiven you or moved on or whatever for trying to do that, I suppose I can too."

"Dawn!" Buffy said.

"What?" Faith stammered. "What in the hell is she talking about?"

"Faith…" Spike said.

Buffy cut him off. "Now's not the time."

Faith ignored Buffy, her fury aimed in Spike's direction. "Unfucking believable."

"Was before I got the soul," he said quietly.

"Shit," Faith said, falling against the back of her chair. The feeling of being a stranger and not really knowing any of these people was back with interest. She wanted to bolt, and that didn't make her feel any better either.

Dawn's eyes flickered towards Faith briefly. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean for you to find out that way."

Faith wasn't sure what to say. There was too much shit flying around her brain at the moment. All she could do was sit there like an idiot, staring at Dawn.

"Everything that's happened," Dawn began, speaking quickly. "I just couldn't take it anymore. You all took me to Italy and then left me there, like an old pair of shoes that didn't fit anymore. And then you're keeping all these secrets from me, all of you! I cared about Spike, but nobody thought I was worth letting in on the big secret." She glared at Faith. "And then I find out he's with you. It's not right, none of it."

"Someone just get her to shut the hell up," Faith mumbled.

"God, Faith," Buffy said. "She needs to talk about this. How can you not get that?"

"How can I not get that?" Faith said, flying out of her chair like her life depended on it. "I have been her punching bag since she got here. Now I find out that he tried to rape you and then no one bothered sharing that little bit of information with me. And then all of a sudden, you're all kissing and making up? How long have you three had to deal with this? A couple years? Well, sorry, I've had a minute, so excuse me if I'm a little…"

"I didn't say it to make you mad," Dawn said. "It wasn't personal."

"How can you say it's not personal?" Faith demanded. "Is anyone even listening to me?"

"Enough!" Spike said standing up.

"Don't you…"

"Faith, sit down."

"Or what? You'll force me?"

The words were out before she could stop them. And the look on Spike's face… well… shit.

Faith sat down.

Spike ran his fingers through his hair. "Bit, I'm sorry. Didn't broadcast being back because I didn't know how." He glanced at Buffy. "Part of me figured you'd both be better off without me.

"And I know you've heard this more often than not, but," he turned to Faith, "what Buffy and I had was beyond complicated. Don't understand it m'self. Doubt I ever will. Makes it a little hard to try to explain it to somebody else. You deserved better."

Faith wondered what wasn't complicated when it came to Spike.

He continued, now looking at Dawn. "None of this is Faith's fault. You need to know that. If you don't like her, probably not much I can do about it, but don't be using my relationship with her to fuel whatever fire you got goin'."

Spike sighed. "I've done things I'm not proud of, both before and after the soul, but it doesn't change the fact that I still care about you." Spike sank into his chair.

"I'm sorry," Dawn said quietly. "I didn't want all of this to happen."

Faith was starting to think she was better off not having been part of an actual family if this was the shit that went down.

"It's all right, Bit," Spike said as he stroked her hair. "It's my fault. I know that now. Should've said somethin' to you sooner. There's no excuse for that."

They stayed that way for what felt like forever to Faith.

"Dawn." Buffy broke the silence, her voice tight, "Even when things were… at their worst between Spike and me, and I was unsure of nearly everything, I was sure of one thing. That Spike loves you. He always has. I love you, too. That's never going to change. We're here for you. We are always here for you."

Spike had tried to rape B. Spike? None of this made any sense to Faith. Not at all.

Spike let out a long, unnecessary breath. "No one can spin me around 'til I'm arse over tea kettle like you three can and I love you for it."

Love? The three of them? Is that what he just said?

How could people just toss the love word around like that? Like it wasn't a big deal?

"I love you too," Dawn said, throwing her arms around him.

Shit.

What had Faith gotten herself in to? Damn dust.

Faith wiped away the minute amount of moisture that had gathered in one of her eyes.

She glanced at B. Dust must have made its way into _both _of her eyes.

Going to need to keep this place a little cleaner, too much crap floating around, making people's eyes all watery and shit.


	18. Chapter 18

"Did you hear all that? I mean it was a regular soap opera." Andrew said excitedly. "Um, not that I watch them."

"You left the note, right?" Emma asked, trying to steer the conversation in a different direction. The current topic was one she didn't want to think about, let alone discuss with this loony watcher guy.

"The note?" Andrew asked. "Oh! The 'it's-too-stressful-in-the-house-so-we're-going-out-to-get-some-Hot Pockets' note?"

"Yes," Emma said. "That note, but I think there was supposed to more than just Hot Pockets on it." Emma tried her best to organize her teeny car trunk for the grocery run.

More hot sauce packets? Like she needed those. Not like she and Faith were going to be doing any late night Taco Bell runs anymore.

"But did you _hear_," Andrew stressed.

"I already told you I don't eavesdrop… well, not usually. Is that why Dawn's not coming?"

Andrew arched his eyebrow. I believe she and the platinum blond _vampyre_ might be spending some time together. Kissing and making up… without the actual kissing." Andrew blushed.

Emma rolled her eyes. "What about everyone else?"

"The Watcher, the Witch and the Carpenter, the Rogue Slayer, and, um, Buffy will be conducting the research. They are trying to ascertain the exact location of the opening to the mouth of hell that is currently residing at the Stadium of the Tigers."

"Why do you talk like that?" Emma asked as she got into the car. "I mean, really. Don't you need to work to make it come out that way?"

"Whatever do you mean?" Andrew asked innocently as he got into the passenger's side. "Do we not all speak like this?"

Emma laughed. "Um, no. We don't 'all speak like this.'" She shook her head. "Are you gay?" she asked as she backed out onto the street. She didn't need to look directly at Andrew to see him stiffen up. "Don't have to tell me. I was just curious."

"What makes you think I might be… that?" he asked nervously.

It was Emma's turn to shrug. "I don't know. The way you act. The way you look. Maybe it's the way you talk. I've heard about this gaydar thingie. Either the one I have is broken or you're gay. I can never tell. People are just people. Doesn't really make any difference to me."

Andrew spoke so softly, Emma had a hard time hearing him so she turned off the radio. "What did you say?"

Avoiding her eyes, he said, "I don't know."

"That's cool. If you don't know, that would be a good reason for me not to know either."

"Once I thought I might be," he said shrugging. "But now I'm not sure."

"What made you think you were?" Emma asked, turning out of the subdivision.

"Warren."

"Who's Warren?"

"A guy I used to know. He's dead now. Willow killed him, skinned him alive, so I've been told, when she was _Dark Willow_," he said matter-of-factly.

Emma slammed on the brakes, not caring that the car behind her screeched its tires and honked its horn at her. She couldn't have heard Andrew right. "What?"

"He's dead now."

"Not that! Willow did what?"

"Skinned him alive. In a tragic twist of fate, a stray bullet from Warren's gun killed the witch's lesbian lover during his mad attempt to kill Buffy. Willow went all crazy. She's better now."

Emma was suddenly beginning to wonder why everyone thought she'd be safer living with these people! She slowly eased her foot off the brake and starting driving again, oblivious to all the blaring horns and profanities that were aimed her way.

"They left that little tidbit out during our little talks," Emma said. "Wonder what else I don't know that I probably should!"

"The Rogue Slayer killed people too and so did Spike, but a lot more. They make a beautiful couple, don't you think?"

"Just stop! Enough past-flashing for one day. Besides that stuff about Faith and Spike, I already knew."

"Past-flashing? And you say I talk funny."

"It's a Michigan thing," Emma said, desperately needing to lighten up their conversation.

"Really?" Andrew asked, eyebrows raised in query.

"No, not really." Emma smiled. "I made that up." She had known he would believe her. He was predictable that way.

"Cruel. A cruel girl you are. Where are we going, anyway?"

"Meijer. One-stop shopping and they're open twenty-four hours. Perfect place to shop."

"Well, hurry up. I want my Hot Pockets."

"Do you have the list we made?"

"Yes, right here," Andrew said, reaching into his pocket. He glanced at the piece of paper he had in his hand. "Uh-oh."

"Uh-oh? Uh-oh isn't good, Andrew." Emma pulled into the Meijer parking lot, grateful that the store itself was so close, and automatically parked in the furthest spot away from any of the other cars, all the way in the back. The last row was hers. Emma would never chance her car being the victim of a runaway shopping cart.

"Give me the list," she said, tearing it from Andrew's hand. "To Whom It May Concern… the Virgin Slayer and I have gone on a 'Hot Pocket Quest'." She turned to Andrew. "Where's the list?"

"On the counter where I was supposed to leave this," Andrew said timidly.

"We are _so _going to get into trouble. But we're here now; let's just get this over with."

Neither of them noticed they were being followed.

XXXXX

There was only so much Faith could do to make herself scarce. Her car was spotless. She had spent most of the day making sure of that. Nice sunny day. Best time to clean the Viper. Not that it was all that dirty, but it gave her something to do. And there was something to be said for hanging outside when the person you were trying to avoid the most just happened to be a vampire.

Occasionally Faith would see him peek out one of the shaded windows, but she ignored him. To think twenty-four hours ago she'd entertained the idea of cutting a pair of her jeans into daisy dukes and giving him a show while she did this. Be a cold day in hell now.

Faith had heard something about Spike asking Dawn if she wanted to help him try to make a homemade blooming onion. And Buffy was sticking pretty close to Dawn. Cozy.

Whatever.

Faith wasn't sure when Xander had wandered outside. One minute she was alone, pawing through her glove box for a candy bar that she had shoved in there, and the next he was leaning against the newly bright and shiny fender.

"My money is on the pitcher's mound," Xander said casually. "Mound of dirt. Smack dab in the middle of the stadium. They can sacrifice their virgin and listen to the crowds roar all at the same time."

"Crowd roaring because they're sacrificing a virgin or because they can't believe they're actually seeing one being sacrificed?" She tore the wrapper and bit off a piece of chocolate.

Xander shrugged. "Maybe a little bit of both. God, am I hungry."

"Where'd all the food get to?" Faith had checked the kitchen out thoroughly before she started working on her car. There wasn't much to be found.

"Andrew probably hid it."

"Will he ever get over it?" Faith leaned on the car next to Xander. "It was once. Forever ago."

"Is there another one of those in there?" he asked, pointing to the last bite of her candy bar.

Faith smiled. "Nope. Only one."

"Earlier, I thought a grocery run was in the works when I saw this list," said Xander, pulling the list out of his pocket and handed it to Faith, "but it was still sitting there, so I guess not."

"Pepperoni Pizza Hot Pockets, Breakfast Hot Pockets, Meatball and Cheese Hot Pockets… It goes on and on." Faith handed it back to Xander. "I didn't know they made that many different kinds."

"Guess we don't need to ask whose list it is. Glad to see Andrew has his priorities in order."

"Where is he anyway? Haven't heard him snivel in a while."

"I'm not sure. Thought it was your day to watch him," Xander said jokingly.

"Watch whom?" Giles asked as he and Buffy joined them.

So much for being alone.

"Yes, whom?" Buffy asked, smiling.

"Andrew," Xander said.

"He's missing?" Giles asked.

"I wouldn't say he's missing, we just don't know where he is," Xander told him.

"There's a difference?" Buffy muttered.

"Probably for the best, we need to decide what we're going to do," Giles said.

"Here we are," Buffy said, "The planny people."

"Faith and I were talking," Xander said, "and I was telling her that I think the Seal is under the pitcher's mound."

"Actually, Xander, you might be right. I have been considering the matter, and it makes perfect sense," Giles said genuinely.

"Score one for Harris!" Faith said, flashing him a 100 watt grin. "Well, if it's not the pitcher's mound," she added, "gotta be home plate." Faith refused to look at Buffy.

"I think Xander's right," Buffy said. "I'm going with the pitcher's mound."

"I was wondering where you'd all gone to," Willow said, joining them. "I was looking for you guys. Have I mentioned I really hate Hellmouth Seals?"

"Not as much as I do!" Xander said anxiously. "You've never truly hated a Seal until you've been tied up and bled above one by a demon you've dated."

Willow smiled. "Good point. Buffy said she was pretty, though, for a demon."

Enough with the witty banter. The entire 'hellmouth opening' talk was boring Faith and that was letting her mind wander over to a bunch of thoughts she didn't want to deal with at the moment. Besides, as far as she was concerned, the only way to find the opening was to bring a few shovels and start digging.

"Maybe I should ask Emma out," Xander said. "Pretty confidant that she's not a demon."

"Emma!" blurted Faith.

"Emma?" Buffy asked, her eyes widening. She looked at Faith. "You haven't talked to her since Spike got here, have you?"

Shit! She hadn't. Thanks for bringing it up, B.

"You haven't?" Willow asked.

"Not on purpose," Faith snipped at Willow. "Not like I'm intentionally avoiding her. When I'm here, she's not… and the other way around." Faith looked around. "Where is she anyway?"

"Now that you mention it, I haven't seen her in awhile," Xander said. "Why am I getting nervous all of a sudden?"

"I'll be right back," Buffy said over her shoulder as she rushed into the garage, returning almost immediately. "Her car's gone."

"Gone?" Faith said, no longer able to pretend that Buffy didn't exist.

"Gone." Buffy repeated.

"Is it likely she and Andrew went out somewhere together?" Giles asked, the concern showing in his voice.

"Hot Pockets," Faith said. "The list of them Xander found on the counter. What is it with him and those things?"

"He has issues," Xander said.

"You think?"

"Think that's where they went?" Buffy asked.

"Where's a cell phone when you need one?" Xander asked.

"Squeak has one," Faith said softly. "I just never got the number." She caught the looks aimed her way. "She was always with me. Why would I need to call her?"

"What about Andrew?" Buffy asked Giles.

"He has one!" Giles said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his own cell phone and dialed.

Come on, Andrew, answer already.

"Hey," called Dawn from the front door, holding a cell phone inside an oven mitten. "Where's Andrew?"

"Is that the Stars Wars theme?" Xander asked.

"Where did you find it?" Buffy asked.

"The freezer," Dawn replied.

"What the hell?" Faith said.

"He left his phone in the freezer?" Willow asked.

"He'd forget his head if it wasn't attached," Giles muttered, canceling his call.

"Probably holding his spot for those stupid Hot Pockets," Buffy said.

Dawn walked up to them, pulling the oven mitt off. "Emma and I were supposed to go grocery shopping, but I stayed here. Andrew must've gone with her. Last time I saw him, he was working on a list."

"What now?" Xander asked.

The voice of reason spoke to them all. "We have no reason to believe Andrew or Emma are in any trouble," Giles said. "Our priority is to find the opening to the hellmouth."

"We all can't leave," Xander said. "Especially with Emma and Andrew gone."

Faith just looked at Xander. When did he start caring about Emma in that way? "She's a slayer and he's a watcher. Sort of," Faith said, leaning back on her car. "She'll be fine."

"During daylight hours, I would agree," Giles said. "But it is nearing dusk and it's unlikely Andrew will be of much help if the need arises."

"Isn't he in training?" Xander asked.

"In training' being the key words in that sentence," Giles said.

"Explains a lot," Xander replied.

"What are we going to do?" Faith asked, straightening up. "We can't just stay here."

"I would suggest that you, Buffy and Spike head to the baseball stadium," Giles said. "Willow, Xander, Dawn and I will wait here for their return. We will meet up with you shortly thereafter."

"Fine. Whatever. Let's just go already."

"I'll go tell Spike," Dawn said, dashing back into the house.

Faith wasn't sure what was worse, staying here and doing nothing or going hunting with Buffy and Spike.

XXXXX

"It's getting kinda late," Emma said, watching as Andrew flipped through the third DVD bin that had a sign above it indicating '$9.99 and under'.

"I'll only be another minute," he said glancing at her. "These aren't even ten bucks. This is quite the deal. Ooh, Remo Williams!"

Emma looked around nervously. It was getting dark and no one knew where they were. She was beginning to think this whole outing wasn't such a good idea. Time to play dirty to get his skinny butt moving. "Your Hot Pockets are getting soggy."

"Look at this one," Andrew said cheekily. "You'll like this."

How many times had she'd seen _Silence of the Lambs_? How many times did she yell at the television screen asking that girl if she was stupid? Helping a guy load something into a van? That was one of the oldest tricks in the books.

"I already have it," she said, glancing at her watch again. "We really need to get moving." Emma toyed with her hair. She hadn't tied it up before she left. One of those things Faith made her do before they went out. Faith kept telling her having hair that long wasn't safe. It never made much sense to Emma, not like Faith had short hair, but she always gave Faith the benefit of the doubt, being the one with all the experience. During the day it didn't seem like a big deal, but now… maybe Emma would get something to tie it back before they left.

"No way!" Andrew exclaimed, looking at her, a movie in his hand. "Alien vs. Predator? This one is mine. You know that there would be no way the Alien could win. Predator can go invisible. Wouldn't be possible to defeat a foe that was invisible even though Alien can extend its razor sharp teeth way beyond his face? Not a chance. Plus Predator has bombs." He turned backed toward the bin.

"It's like having a child, isn't it?"

Emma turned quickly around to see an older man standing next to her with his own full cart. "I'm sorry?"

"My grandkids are the same way. Bring them in here and they never want to leave. Seems your boyfriend is like that too," he said, a mischievous smile toying at his lips.

"My boyfriend?" Emma snorted. Old guy's gaydar must be broken too. "He's not my boyfriend."

"Brother?"

"He's just a friend." Emma raised her voice. "Who will be walking home if he doesn't get a move on."

"You have very pretty hair," he continued. "My wife, God rest her soul, had hair just like yours."

Emma wasn't sure what to say. Yeah, the guy had complimented her, but in the same sentence he brought up his dead wife. Yuck.

"Thanks and sorry about your loss." It was the only thing she could think of.

"It's okay. I'm sure I'll be seeing her again soon."

"Andrew!" Emma yelled. "Let's go already."

"You have a point, my dear. It is time to go. I believe I may have ice cream that is melting myself. Have a beautiful evening." He strolled away, pushing his cart ahead of him.

"I turn my back on you briefly and you're picking up old men in the grocery store." Andrew said, walking up and standing next to her.

"Yeah, that's what I was doing. But then I figured he would be more your type. Older and more experienced."

"Hey!" Andrew declared, sounding shocked.

Emma smiled. "You had it coming. Now let's go."

XXXXX

Emma looked around as they loaded their bags into her car. It was dark, and she was secretly chiding herself for parking in the back of the lot. Times were different. She should start doing things differently.

And she had forgotten to get something for her hair. The fact that the lampposts closest to her car were burnt out didn't help matters either.

"Can you help me?"

Emma turned to see the man she had spoken to earlier, his shopping cart was turned over on its side, and his van, she guessed it was his van, parked a couple of spots away from hers.

"I've hit a bump and spilled my cart and I'm not strong enough to pull it back up," he said.

Sighing, Emma handed Andrew her bag. "Stay here and finish loading the car. I'll be right back." Andrew nodded as Emma walked over to help the older man.

"Thank you. Young people nowadays aren't always willing to help out their elders," he said. "Especially when their help is so sorely needed to just survive."

"No problem." Emma just wanted to get the cart turned upright so she and Andrew could leave. The old guy was starting to give her the willies.

XXXXX

Faith's crossbow was not cooperating as she tried to shove it into her weapons bag. She couldn't believe she had left the stupid thing in the bedroom closet, never having packed it up when she moved to the basement.

Maybe she would just move back into the bedroom. After the big blow up in the kitchen, they'd all gone off in different directions... okay, not actually true. Faith had gone off on her own. That hadn't changed and probably wouldn't anytime soon. Shewasn't sure why she was so shocked by the entire Spike and Buffy revelation. Spike was a vampire and he didn't have a soul back then.

That was then. This is now. Right?

Not like Faith hadn't done horrendous things to people she knew back in the day… Wesley briefly came to mind. Glass, fire, crashing through a window, Angel…

"_I'm bad. I'm bad! I'm evil! Please just do it. Just kill me. Just kill me." _

Shit, who was she to pass judgment on anybody? The thought managed to do the impossible; her life was officially even more confusing.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a familiar sound outside the open bedroom window. There was absolutely no mistaking the screeching of someone popping a clutch and grinding gears all at the same time.

"No way," she said as the sound came closer. Emma would not have let that twit drive her car. Faith made her way to the window. She couldn't see out well enough since the room-darkening shade was halfway drawn, so she gave it a good tug and watched it as it slapped the top of the window, spinning around a few times before it finally came to a rest.

That didn't help. Now Faith wasn't able to see the driveway because the leaves had come in on the maple trees. She gave her bag a quick once over, threw it over her shoulder and rushed downstairs. Since she was guilting about not talking to Emma, she figured this would be as good a time as any to start making up for it. Buffy and Spike met her at the bottom of the stairs.

"You heard that too?" Buffy asked.

"Sounded like someone threw a bleeding monkey wrench into a trash compactor," Spike said, glancing at Faith.

The more Faith thought about it, the more she knew that Emma wouldn't let the dork drive her car. The bells and whistles that started going off in her head were deafening.

"No way she'd let him drive her car like that." Faith raced out the door.

Faith wasn't sure what registered first; the fact that Andrew was indeed driving Emma's car; the fact that Andrew couldn't get the car into the driveway because the incline kept causing it to roll back into the street, or the most frightening fact of all… Andrew was alone.

XXXXX


	19. Chapter 19

"It's not my fault," Andrew squawked as Faith dragged him out of the car. "She fought bravely, but in the end, it was too much for a mere child, a young slayer who was greatly outnumbered. A slayer who…"

Buffy caught the murderous threat in Faith's eyes; she quickly stepped in between them, grabbing Andrew away.

"There were hundreds of bloodthirsty, walking undead, non-uber _vampyres_. They jumped out of the back of the van and then they grabbed her by the hair and then they hauled her right into the back of the death trap, poor girl couldn't even fight them off, and then they knocked her out."

"Hundreds of uglies wouldn't fit in the back of a soddin' van," Spike said.

"Not a hundred," stammered Andrew, "Four. Maybe Five. And a really ugly demon-type dude."

"Andrew," Buffy said, making eye-contact with him, "now is not the time for stories. We need to know what happened. Exactly what happened. Understand?"

The look of panic slowly left Andrew's eyes. Buffy watched as he visibly took four very deep breaths. "It's okay. Take your time," she said.

"But not too much time," Faith added, edging closer to him.

"Faith," Spike said, touching her arm before jumping back as she swung at him. He held his hands out, asking, "Give 'im a moment, pet?"

At first it looked to Buffy like Faith was going to do anything but ease up. But the longer Faith held Spike's gaze, the more Buffy could see something in her relax. At least enough for Andrew to stop shaking like a leaf.

Spike's tenderness towards Faith didn't surprise Buffy; the fact that Faith accepted it did. Faith had never been the tender-type. Buffy was the one who had the loving relationships, even if they seemed never to last long. When had Faith become that girl?

Buffy looked Andrew in the eyes again. "Andrew, what happened to Emma? We can't fix this without more information."

Andrew took one more deep breath. "My suspicion would be chloroform. Works quickly. No muss. No fuss. Might cause some vomiting when one wakes up. And I believe a headache will be in the making also."

Buffy smiled. He might become a Watcher yet.

"We already know where they're taking her," Spike said. "I say we go and get her."

Andrew started backing toward the house. "Um, maybe I'll just go inside and wait for you to get back. You know, in case Emma shows up. She'll need to see a friendly face."

Andrew ran into the house, slamming the door behind him. Buffy figured it was probably for the best. Buffy turned to Faith, her eerie calmness was starting to make her nervous. "Faith, are you okay? Let's go talk to Willow and Giles. We need a plan."

"Faith?" Spike asked.

Still, Faith said nothing. She glanced at them and then headed towards her car.

"Not going to happen," Spike said, stepping between Faith and the Viper. "You're not going to just take off on your own."

"They've got her and now we're going to get her back before there's nothing left to get. I'm leaving now. I'm not going into the house. If you do, I will be gone by the time you get back out here." Faith looked at both of them coldly. "It's up to you."

XXXXX

Emma's head ached and her belly felt like it was boiling. She forced her eyes open, then squeezed them shut again as she rolled over and puked.

In spite of the headache that could cripple an elephant and her mouth tasting like one, Emma made herself concentrate on her surroundings. First she needed to sit up. Lying on her restrained wrists was cutting off her circulation.

She maneuvered herself into a sitting position. Moving her arms down the back of her legs, she worked them under her feet and finally back in front of her where they belonged.

She couldn't rub her head very well with her wrists tied together, but she did her best.

She needed to figure out where she was. There weren't any windows, but someone had left a battery-operated lamp next to her, giving her a little light to work with.

How nice of them. Emma would've rolled her eyes if it didn't hurt so badly.

The little light didn't help much, but it was enough. From what she could tell, she was in a big closet. She looked up and saw wire hangers on the wooden rod hanging about her head. One of the scenes from the movie _Halloween _flashed briefly in her mind.

She _really_ needed to stop watching all those horror movies.

Emma glanced at the door, she didn't need to hear them to know there was an ugly or two parked on the other side of it. It didn't take a genius to realize that she had been duped by a bunch of vamps and now those vamps and a few of their closest friends, like the Nigriv demons, wanted to use her as a… sacrifice.

Emma refused to say 'virgin sacrifice'. If she admitted that, she would know the only reason she was here was because she'd never gotten laid. God, she really was a dork!

What if they made her have sex with a vamp before they killed her? That thought just about stopped her heart in her chest. But that didn't make much sense, did it? Why find a virgin only to deflower her before the big night, right? If Emma wasn't careful, she was going to puke again.

"Okay, Emma, think," she muttered quietly. "You've read enough. You know what they do with a sacrifice. They need the blood for something. Some kind of ritual. Maybe they wouldn't need all of it? Maybe they'd just take a little and leave the rest?"

Like that was going to happen. Besides, if they only needed a little, the chances of losing her innocence to a vamp became a little too possible. What if they turned her? No, worse! What if they took some of her blood, made her have sex with a vampire and then turned her?

Emma could wind up a slut. A blood-drinking slut!

Now that she'd realized the worst-case scenario, it was time to start figuring a way out of this mess. She just prayed that Faith and the others would show up sooner rather than later.

XXXXX

Spike was worried about Faith. He knew he should be more worried about the girl, but Faith was being too quiet and that was never a good sign. She was holding the strap of her bag so tightly, her knuckles had gone white.

It didn't take much for Spike to single out her heartbeat from Buffy's. Faith's heart was beating so fast in her chest, Spike wasn't sure he needed his vampire senses to hear it. Add to that Faith's silence, which was so palpable that it had its own physical presence in the van, and Spike's worry took on an edge of fear for his girl.

"You okay?" he finally asked, sneaking a sideways glance at her as he drove. The fact that she let him drive spoke volumes, even if it wasn't her car.

Spike was surprised when Buffy had agreed to go without reformulating a plan with Rupert. Best he could figure, she was banking that Andrew would fill Giles in on what had happened and they would start working on a plan B. Equally surprising was that Faith had waited while Buffy went inside and snatched the keys. Logic was somehow keeping a toehold in Faith's head. Spike knew his role was helping keep it there.

"Fine. Let's just get there." Faith's gaze never shifted towards him; she continued staring out the front window, hands still grasping her bag.

"What exactly is your plan when we do get there?" he asked. Spike was afraid that she'd just take off in search of Emma without them. He wanted to make sure that wasn't going to happen.

"Kill whatever is in our way. Find her. Take her home."

"That simple, eh?"

"It's as simple as we make it."

"Don't worry, Faith. She'll be okay," Buffy said from the seat behind them. "She's smart and she's strong. Emma will hold her own until we find her. She knows we're coming."

"It's not Emma I'm worried about," Faith finally said.

XXXXX

It wasn't Emma she was worried about. If anything happened to Emma, there was no telling what Faith would do. That's what worried her. She would never forgive herself. Sure, Faith would bitch about Emma. Say things like 'she's annoying and clingy', but she was Emma.

It had taken awhile, but Squeak had kinda grown on her. The little sister wannabe. Sure, Faith had fought that label tooth and nail, but a small part of her had liked it. Liked having someone around who was like a little sister. A little sister Faith never had. And one that didn't hate her like Dawn did.

Emma spoke what was on her mind too. Kid radiated innocence. And she was smart in a people kind of way. Real smart. Emma could read people and say shit that would've pissed most people off if it had come from anybody else, but not when Emma said it.

Faith liked Emma. Emma had liked Faith. And Faith had deserted her. Deserted her for a guy. Once again, Faith had fucked up.

Faith had let her hormones guide her. Once she had gotten over the fact that Spike had shown up unannounced, she had forgotten Emma. Faith had spent the majority of her time patrolling and fucking. Would she ever learn?

"It's not Emma I'm worried about," she repeated.

XXXXX

Faith didn't even wait for the van to stop moving before she jumped out, heading for the entrance she and Buffy had used to get into the stadium before. She just hoped that it hadn't been found and locked back up. She didn't want to take the time to break into the place again. She had things to do.

They had grabbed Emma by her hair? How many times had Faith told her that she should cut it off? Or at least cut it shorter. Stupid girl. Stupid girl Faith should have never left alone.

The sound of Spike's voice shouting at her to wait registered briefly, but Faith tossed it aside as she ran around the side of the building. For once, luck was on her side. The padlocks she had previously broken were still lying on the ground. All Faith had to do was roll the door open. This time she didn't have Buffy's help and it took a minute longer. She wished that Spike and Buffy had caught up to her already. No such luck.

Once Faith opened the door, she grabbed a flashlight out of her weapons bag. It was dark. Too dark. Even with the flashlight, she couldn't make out much of anything that fell outside the beam.

She just wanted to call out Emma's name, but Faith knew that wouldn't work. The place was too big to look for her. She would just be getting unwanted attention and she wasn't about to bring that down on herself. It would be coming soon enough.

How in the hell was Faith going to find her?

XXXXX

"I can't believe she did that!" Buffy said, slamming the van door shut. "She just left. Faith knows better than that."

"Let's just get in there," Spike said, grabbing any weapons he could find in the van. Everything had happened so fast, that neither he nor Buffy had the chance to grab their own before they left. Spike was just grateful that Giles had left backups in the van.

They stopped in the front of the stadium. "How in the hell are we going to get into this place?" Spike asked.

"This way," Buffy said as she took off running.

XXXXX

Overwhelmed, that was the perfect word for what she was feeling.

Faith didn't know what to do and she didn't know which way to go. This place was big and even in full light it had been a bitch to search. It was even worse now that she was alone and it was dark.

She heard Buffy and Spike behind her someplace, at least she thought it was them. Maybe she should just wait for them?

Faith was a slayer. How could she not know what to do?

XXXXX

Emma tried unsuccessfully to loosen the ropes that bound her. After throwing up for the third time, she realized how lucky she was that they hadn't gagged her. If they had, she'd be dead already.

Not being one to look a gift horse in the mouth, Emma did the only thing she could think of. She started screaming.

XXXXX


	20. Chapter 20

After one ear-splitting scream, Emma yelled, "Anybody out there?" She knew it probably wasn't the smartest thing to do, but anything was better than sitting here waiting to be part of the big hellmouth smorgasbord.

Emma heard footsteps stomp toward the door. She unconsciously pushed against the wall, as though it could some how absorb her and get her out of this mess.

"Shut up, girlie," a bored voice said from outside the closet door.

"Yeah, shut up. If you don't quit screeching I'll come in there and shut you up," said another voice, farther from the door than the first one was. Great, there were two of them, and neither sounded like they were going to be of any help.

Still, she felt better. There was something to be said for that entire scream therapy thing her shrink had told her about once upon a time. But at least Emma knew she wasn't alone in this dark and cold place. The big question here was why they weren't coming in to shut her up. Emma took that as a bad sign.

She scooted to the door and tried to make out the murmurings of the two guys on the other side. Were there only two?

"I don't have any sixes. I already told you that. Go, fish."

You have got to be kidding! Emma moved back against the wall. Her life was in mortal danger and the two numb nuts that were guarding her were playing cards. She refused to think that 'Go, Fish' could eventually be the death of her.

Emma sighed and looked around, her gaze settling on the wire hangers above her head. If she could somehow get her bound hands on one of them, she might be able to use it for a weapon or at least to help free her hands and legs. Couldn't she? Emma knew that whatever she did would have to be done quietly. Her stomach had finally started to settle down and she wasn't ready for another bout with the chloroform.

Using her legs, Emma pushed herself back until she was against the wall again. She knew she could stay on her butt and kick hard enough to bust down the door, card-playing uglies or not, but she wasn't quite ready to do that yet. First, she needed to get her arms and legs free.

Emma scooted her legs beneath her and rocked back and forth to get momentum. She shimmied up the wall, not stopping until she was upright. Her feet stung, tingling as the numbness wore off, but she felt less helpless now that she was standing

XXXXX

Faith thought she heard a yell. She decided it was wishful thinking that made her hear Emma calling out. She waited to see if she heard it again. Nothing. But what if it wasn't her imagination? What if it really had been Emma crying out for help?

Faith turned toward the shout and ran.

XXXXX

"She wasn't that far ahead of us," Buffy said out of pure aggravation. "Why haven't we found her yet?"

"She probably went the other way," Spike said, standing next to her, sounding as frustrated as Buffy felt.

"Then we go the other way," Buffy said, stopping suddenly and throwing him a look over her shoulder. "How come you can't tell where she is? You're usually pretty good at the sniffy thing."

"I can't distinguish between when you were here before and now. And there are too many other smells getting in the way," he said, sounding disgusted.

Buffy was about to ask him about the nature of the other smells, but he could still read her. "Don't ask," he said. "You don't want to know."

"You're right." Buffy shook her head. "I don't want to know." They began walking and Buffy stopped at a door. "I remember this room," she said, opening the door slowly. "Faith said it reminded her of _The Shining_. If she saw it now, she would be even more freaked out." Buffy shivered and Spike placed his hand on her shoulder, letting her know he knew she was wigged.

"Faith got freaked out?" he asked, removing his hand and taking a step back. "I can't see her freaking out over some old room."

"She didn't really freak out. It was creepy during the day. Now it's dark and she's alone."

"Yeah," Spike said. "Let's go find her and the girl so we can get the hell out of here."

XXXXX

"They have been gone over an hour and Emma's been gone even longer. We're not just going to stay here and wait for them to bring her back," Dawn announced, her patience pretty much at the end. "There are only three of them, okay four once they find Emma, but still, there are probably way more bad guys."

"And there are four of us," Xander reminded her. "Doesn't increase our odds all that much."

"Dawn," Giles cautioned, "we know you want to help, but if we go running off with no plan, we will not be helping anyone. And if I might add, when did you start acting so much like Buffy?"

"Who needs a plan? We have a powerful witch on our side!" she continued, ignoring Giles' comment. No one was going to talk her out of this. No one.

"Whoa! Wait a second," Willow said. "I just can't whip up something this big lickity-split. That would fall under 'not having a plan' and too much bad could happen. Small stuff, I can do, we just need to figure out what would work best."

"Andrew said there are only four or five vampires. We can handle four or five of them and some virgin-loving-demon-jerk without magic," Dawn insisted.

"Dawn…" Giles began.

"We?" Andrew said. "Um, who exactly would 'we' be? Because the freezer could use a serious defrosting."

Giles glared at him. "Andrew, if you don't mind, and please stop interrupting. If we had additional slayers here, I would agree that we should go, but with our limited abilities--I don't want us to become a hindrance. Our entire plan cannot be based on magic alone."

"Giles," Dawn said. "You already have three slayers and a vampire at the ballpark. And everybody here has been through at least one apocalypse. We'll be fine, with or without magical help."

"Willow," Xander asked, "can't you do some type of spell to find out just how many of our un-dead pals are hanging at the stadium? That could be someplace to start."

"Anya and I tried that once before," Willow said. "Do you know how many demons are over a hellmouth? I set her carpet on fire, there were so many."

"If I could make a suggestion…" Andrew began.

"Andrew, we don't have time for…" Xander interrupted him, but Dawn didn't let him finish.

"Xander, let him talk," she demanded.

Andrew kicked at an invisible rock on the living room floor. "Our most-powerful witch, Willow, may not have time to come up with a big spell, but I believe she could come up with a smaller one that could help us--one that we would not need to rely on completely."

"I'm listening," Willow said. She leaned forward tucking her hair behind her ear.

Andrew's confidence grew. He began pacing and talking faster. "I believe our problem is two-fold," he said and held up his index finger. "One. We don't know how many baddies are waiting for us at the stadium. And two," he added another finger. "How certain are we that we would not be walking into a trap if even one foot is stepped out of this house? Our young slayer is not the only virgin in our midst." He glanced at Dawn and arched an eyebrow. "Our supreme witch, Willow, has placed a protection spell over this house; maybe they're outside waiting for us as we debate our plan."

"If I live through this, I'm so doing something about this virginity issue," Dawn muttered.

"Bite your tongue!" Xander said. "Uncle Xander can't handle it when cute little Dawn talks like that."

"Uncle Xander?" Dawn rolled her eyes. "Like you're that much older than I am. And what's with the third-person speak?"

"I can cloak us," Willow said, ignoring the exchange between Xander and Dawn. "I could do that. Not all of us, though. I would need to stay here, but a couple of you could sneak out. If we are being watched, I don't think they'd notice you being gone."

"It's dark. The lights are on. We've been moving around. If that stops all of a sudden, they'll know we're not here anymore," Xander said. "It's not like we'd just turn the lights off and go to bed with them not being home yet."

"I could be mistaken, but I believe in one of the _Home Alone_ movies, our little Macaulay Culkin ran into the same problem. Actually, I believe it was the first one, which if you ask me, was the best," Andrew said. "Young Master Culkin gave the illusion of people being home, when if fact, he was alone." He met each of their gazes. "'Home Alone' and he, um, made the bad guys think there were a lot of people around when there really weren't."

"God!" Dawn shouted. "If Willow can do cloaking spells and teleportation spells and detection spells, why are we even standing around here talking about this? She can send Xander and me. Giles and Andrew can stay here looking all busy-like so it looks like no one has left and Willow can do what she needs to do from here. Once we're gone, we'll be on our own and we won't be relying on magic entirely. We'll be relying on ourselves. Why is everyone making this so difficult?"

Silence hung in the air. They just looked at Dawn, their expressions baffled. Good! That got their attention, she thought.

"Super-witch is starting to get a little stressed out, already," Willow stammered. "Cloaking and detection spells, usually no big. But teleportation? I only did that once and it took dark magic. I can't do it again."

"Yes, you can," Giles said quietly.

"What?"

"You can. True, it will take a lot of energy, most likely all of your energy and it will take some time for you to fully recuperate, but you do have the ability--if you focus without any distractions. I can help you," he said.

Dawn smiled. "That's more like it."

"Willow," Giles said. "Come with me, I have what we will need."

"I'm coming, too!" Andrew exclaimed as he followed Giles and Willow out of the room.

"Are you sure this is such a good idea?" Xander asked, running his fingers through his hair. "And why are you so gung-ho about running off into God knows what?"

"Don't you ever get sick of being the one left behind? Everyone rushes out to save the day and you know you can help, but they never let you. I'm sick of it. If I can help, I will help. With or without their blessing," Dawn said.

"Giles was right."

"About what?"

"You did turn into Buffy."

XXXXX

"Okay. That was… interesting," Xander said, trying to maintain his balance.

"No kidding." Dawn agreed. "I feel all funny on the inside," she said, placing her hand on her stomach.

"I still don't know why I had to come," Andrew whined, getting up from off the floor. "Why would I be a distraction? Besides, I feel all weird and I think I may have landed in something sticky." He reached behind himself to check. "Eww, I did. There's something all over my pants." He sighed. "And now it's all over my hand."

"If you hadn't fallen down, that wouldn't be an issue, now would it?" Dawn asked, looking around. "This place is too big."

Xander took out a penlight and blueprints of the stadium. "Here, hold this," he said, handing the paper to Dawn.

Dawn watched as Xander followed the path that Willow had laid out for them--demons, hard to narrow down over a hellmouth due to their numbers. Three slayers? Not so much.

"They're spread out all over the place. These two," he said, indicating two red spots, "keep moving. That must be Buffy and Faith." Xander looked at Dawn. "And I'm not even going to ask why they're separated." He glanced back down, his light resting on one tiny red dot. "This one hasn't moved."

"Emma," Dawn said.

"Emma," Xander agreed.

"Someone needs to help me get this off my pants," Andrew demanded. "I can't focus."

"So what else is new?" Xander asked.

"Turn around," Dawn said, walking over to him. She shined her flashlight on the back of his pants. "It's something slimy," she said, reaching out and touching it lightly, pulling her hand back almost immediately, "and old and really gross. But there's nothing you can do about it right now, so get over it. Where's your flashlight?"

"A funny thing happened…" he began.

"You broke it," Dawn said.

"You forgot it," Xander chorused at the same time.

"No, you two think-you-know-everything's," Andrew said, crossing his arms over his chest. "I didn't break it or forget it. I lost it. That's different."

Dawn shook her head. Who thought it would be a good idea to bring Andrew along?

"Let's go," she said, as the three of them entered the shadows of the old ball park. None of them noticed the form that began to take shape out of the slime Andrew had fallen into.

XXXXX


	21. Chapter 21

Emma felt as though she had been hanging out in the stupid closet for months—and if she had to listen to the idiots outside go over the rules of Go, Fish one more time, she was going to scream—again!

Getting really tired of just sitting there, she figured she might as well do something productive. Since the screaming thing didn't work, she knocked a hanger down. She positioned it in front of her and began twisting it back and forth a couple hundred times, breaking it apart.

Studying the point of the hanger and holding it in her hand, she realized she had never stopped to think of the different ways someone could tie you up. It was her wrists, not her hands that were bound, which was a good thing. She'd be in even more trouble if her hands were actually out of commission.

Emma maneuvered the mutilated hanger into her right hand, and tried to poke holes in the ropes in order to loosen it. All it ended up doing was bending the hanger. After a few more pokes out of pure frustration, she saw that it was pretty much impossible to identify the piece of metal in her hand anymore.

"Damn it!" she whispered through clenched teeth, throwing the hanger aside. "It would be nice if someone showed up about now," she said to no one in particular.

Glancing at the discarded hanger, which just missed her puke, another idea drifted into her brain. What was she thinking? No way she could break the rope with a twisted piece of metal, but undoing a knot, that was something different. Emma snatched the hanger yet again and went to work.

"What is it with all the demon-goo in this place?" Andrew whispered, side-stepping yet another puddle of it. "It's everywhere."

"That's the least of your concerns," Dawn shot back. "Now, shhh."

Dawn stopped and turned back towards Xander. "How far is it?"

"If memory serves me correctly," Xander said, "she should be around the next corner, in one of the rooms over there."

"Well, come on, then," Dawn said as she began walking, picking up her pace.

"Slow down!" Andrew called out. "I can't keep up. My pants are all hard and crusty and I'm having a hard time moving my legs."

Dawn didn't even bothering answering him. She was afraid if she did, she wouldn't be able to control what would come out of her mouth.

"What in the hell are you doing here?"

Dawn stopped dead in her tracks as she directed her flashlight beam in the direction the voice had come from. "Faith?" Dawn turned back to Xander. "How come you didn't tell me she was so close?"

"I wasn't looking for non-movey or movey red dots." Xander shrugged. "I haven't looked at any dots in a while. I knew where we were going."

"I repeat," Faith said. "What in the hell are you doing? How did you even get here?"

"We partook in a magic spell that involved teleportation," Andrew said, stepping in front of Dawn and Xander. "Our super-witch, Willow, had the decency to send us here so we could assist in saving our virgin-slayer."

"What the fuck?" Faith asked.

Dawn pushed Andrew aside. "What Andrew just said--we're here to help. Giles stayed with Willow because she was too weak to be transporter and transportee at the same time."

"Big sis is not going to be happy… with either of us," Faith said.

"Where is she? How did you two get separated?" Dawn asked.

"Not the time or place. We need to find Emma," Faith said, turning away from her.

"Around the next corner," Xander said as he tapped Faith on the shoulder and handed her the blueprints.

"What?"

Dawn snatched the blueprints out of her hands. "Our guide. Now let's go."

"When did she get so pushy?" Faith asked Xander.

"It's a thing," Xander said. "And if earlier today is any indication, I suggest we all follow her."

"Did you hear that?" Buffy asked. "Sounded like Dawn."

"All the yip-yapping in front of us?" Spike asked, shifting the weapons bag to the other shoulder. "How could anyone have bloody missed it? I suggest we catch up before they have an army of demon-boys on their asses."

"What is Dawn doing? And was that Xander? How'd they even get here?" Buffy snapped.

"I suggest we go and find out."

"Are they playing Go, Fish?" Dawn whispered, tipping her ear towards the door. "You have got to be kidding me."

"Pretty sure that's the only card game where you ask for fours," Xander said.

"Emma's in there?" Seeing that the door was already halfway open, Faith took advantage of it and peeked in. "And there's only two vamps guarding her?" Looking at Xander and then Dawn. "Does that seem strange to anyone else besides me?" she whispered.

"I was thinking…" Andrew began.

"I wasn't talking to you," Faith spat. She wasn't in the mood for him and she blamed Andrew for losing Emma in the first place. Idiot.

"What are we going to do?" Dawn asked.

Like there was any question? "Get back," Faith demanded, pushing the door all the way open, stake in hand.

Surprised, the vampires jumped to their feet.

"You guys should try euchre once in awhile," Faith chirped.

"You wanna teach us?" one asked, as they both moved away from her.

Instead of rushing her like she thought they would, the demons scampered away, hiding not too well, behind their card table.

"We don't want no trouble, lady."

"Kind of late for that, isn't it?" Faith kicked the table, slamming it into both of them. Doubling over in pain, they looked baffled for a moment, but only a moment. With a very impressive one-two strike, Faith staked them both.

"Emma!" Dawn cried, running into the room. "Where are you?"

"In the closet!" Emma called out. "Literally, not figuratively, because I like guys, although if I would've found one I really liked, I wouldn't be in my current predicament now, would I?"

"Out of my way." Faith kicked the door. "Damn it." The lock didn't budge.

"Watch it!" Emma called out. I don't need a door falling on my head on top of everything else!"

Faith kicked it again, watching as part of the door splintered and fell away.

"Hey!" Emma yelled.

"Do you want to get out of there or not?" Faith shouted. Her question was met with silence. "Pretty much what I thought. Now move as far back as you can. I think one more hit should do it." Faith kicked it once more, the door finally giving way.

Faith opened what was left of the door and was immediately assaulted by the smell of puke. Faith's hand immediately covered her nose. "God, Squeak. Couldn't you have held it in?"

"Vomit is actually a side-affect of chloroform," Andrew said. After Faith glared at him, he backed further away from her. "But one should be able to contain their puke."

"Like I had a choice," Emma said, looking at Faith and tossing a mutilated hanger to the floor. "Now would you mind getting me the hell out of here?"

Faith reached in and grabbed Emma by the wrists, hauling her out. Using her skilled fingers, she untied Emma's bindings. Once her hands were free, Emma tossed the ropes aside and went to work on her own feet.

"You can twist a hanger every which way from Sunday, but you couldn't until your feet?" Faith asked confused. Emma just looked at her.

"Are you okay?" Xander asked, giving her arm a light squeeze.

"Am now," Emma said, a nice pink hue rising in her cheeks.

"We need to find Buffy and Spike and get out of here," Dawn insisted.

"Good idea," Andrew said. "This room has all that slimy stuff. And maybe it's just me, but there's more of it now than there was when we first got in here."

Faith wasn't quite sure what the moron was talking about, but after scanning the room, she saw that there were quite a few puddles of gunk around. "What is that stuff?"

"Goop," Xander said. "Andrew fell into a puddle of it and has been obsessed ever since."

"Obsessed is better than being possessed," Andrew said, sounding like a ticked off twelve year old.

"Who's obsessed?" Emma asked. "What did I miss? Did I miss something good again?"

Faith wasn't listening to them. She was watching where the vampire dust had fallen. She knew that it had floated to the floor, the carpeted floor, but now she couldn't see any remnants of the ash. All she saw was a puddle of some blue-gray gooey stuff that wasn't there before.

"I think we leave," she said, edging her way toward the door. The puddle grew larger as she watched. "Now."

"Shit," Buffy said stopping. "So much for my last pair of Italian shoes." She reached down and tried to wipe off the sticky-substance she had stepped in.

"What is it?"

"Nothing. It's fine. Are we close?"

"We are," Spike said. "Andrew has the unmistakable smell of pepperoni. I'm surprised he hasn't been some vamp's snack at some point already."

Buffy was still using the flashlight, but Spike's vision was just fine and his senses were even better. He was picking up traces of everyone now-- Harris, Pepperoni-Boy, the Bit, the Girl and Faith and something else he couldn't quite identify.

Oomph!

"Buffy!" Where had she gone? Spike whirled to see her sliding back the way they had just come.

Something picked him up and he was heaved through the air, landing with a painful splat, not far from Buffy. "What the hell?" he said, scanning the area, his vampire vision a gift in the current lighting conditions.

"I don't know," Buffy replied as she stood up, reaching down and pulling him up with her. "Did you see anything?" she asked as she picked up her flashlight and readied her stake.

"No," he growled. "But I definitely felt something."

"There!"

Spike turned to see where Buffy was pointing with her flashlight. "You have got to be kidding me."

As Faith backed her way to the door, she hoped that no one noticed that they were no longer alone in the room. The puddle was not only bigger now, it was starting to glow—and if Mr. Obsessed noticed, they were pretty much screwed.

"Shit," she muttered.

Faith felt Dawn's hair brush her cheek as Dawn peeked over her shoulder.

"What?" Dawn asked. "Oooh… tall, ugly, misty--Nigriv demon?"

"Emma," Faith whispered. "Up, here with me. The rest of you, out."

"Eww," Emma said, standing along side Faith. "I'm glad these guys waited before showing up."

Without taking her eyes off the form that was taking shape, Faith reached into her weapons bag, handing Emma the first thing she found.

Emma looked down at the axe. "This helps."

Dawn was still standing close to Faith, she hadn't moved at all. Xander and Andrew hadn't ventured any further either.

"Which part of 'get out of here now' did you people not understand?" Faith asked, finally turning around and seeing them all still standing there, a look of awe encompassing their faces. "Dawn, is Willow getting us out of here? Or do we need to make a run for it?" Faith asked, nudging her backwards.

"Running for it would be good," Dawn said.

"Uh, guys," Xander blurted out. "We have company."

Faith, Dawn and Emma turned around simultaneously, Faith stepped into the hall; there were more rising mist puddles out here. "Have I mentioned, 'shit'?"

"I am so dead," Emma said.

"Not feeling all that secure myself at the moment," Dawn added.

"How many are there?" Buffy asked, backing up. "I thought there weren't that many Nigriv demons?"

"Someone's count was a little off I 'spect," Spike said as he moved to stand next to her.

"So what you're telling me is that I got part of one of them on my shoe?"

"I don't think it's them, maybe stuff from a portal or something." Spike paused, looking at her. "What are you asking me for? Like I'm a soddin' expert!"

"Where are all the vampires? Shouldn't this place be overrun with them by now?"

"I don't know, Buffy. I've been here as long as you have!" Spike said, exasperated.

"Got anything good in that bag?"

Spike smiled, opening it up. "Thought this might come in handy."

Buffy reached out her hand and took the weapon Spike offered her. "I haven't seen this in awhile."

"Rupert had it in the back of the van, in one of those net things."

Buffy looked at the scythe with affection.

Faith figured she didn't have much choice. She had one demon materializing in the room at her back, and about five of them in the hallway. Her plan fell into the 'no-brainer' category. "Back into the room."

Andrew spun so fast he stumbled into Xander, and Dawn shoved them both inside. Xander slammed the door shut as Faith pushed right passed them, and headed toward the glowing half-corporealized demon.

"How in the hell do you fight a ghost?" Emma asked.

Scanning the room, Faith was relieved to see that there weren't any other manifestations… yet. Knowing her stake wouldn't do her much good, Faith put it into the waistband of her jeans and then reached into her bag and pulled out a knife, tossing the bag to the ground. Her pointy friend never failed her before, and she was hoping that this time wouldn't be any different.

"Come on, Emma," she whispered. "Let's get this over with."


	22. Chapter 22

"What is that?" Xander held his nose. "Could this place smell any worse?"

"I said I couldn't help it! Jeez, you try waking up in a closet after being chloroformed and see how you feel afterwards." Emma slung the axe over her shoulder.

"I think the demons are of the smelly variety," Dawn said. "He didn't mean you, Emma."

"Yo, Emma." Faith's voice was tight with frustration. "How many Slayers do you see in this room?"

"What?"

Faith forced a smile and whispered. "How many Slayers are in this room?"

"Two."

"Then maybe you should go over there." Faith pointed to another veil of mist that had appeared.

"Sorry!"

"Don't be sorry; just go do something about it." Faith frowned. "Dawn! Xander! Grab something out of the bag. We're going to need all the help we can get."

"What about me?" Andrew asked.

"Just stay the hell out of my way."

Faith noticed Dawn watching her out of the corner of her eye. "It'll be okay." Faith tried to reassure her. At least she hoped that's what that look meant—that Dawn was worried, scared even. She sighed. Maybe Dawn was pissed because Faith had told her what to do. Not like the littlest Summers was one of the easiest people to read. She took after her sister in more ways than one.

"Stick close to me, Dawn," Xander said.

Faith squared her shoulders and faced the now solid demon. "Let's go, ugly," she taunted. The Nigriv stood around six feet tall, had a sunken nose, and fiery red eyes. It was covered in copious shaggy brown hair, had long claw-like fingers and teeth that would've sent Little Red Riding Hood running for cover.

The demon paused and looked around the room. It acted as though it were surprised to be there.

"What? This not your stop?"

Faith stormed forward. The demon met her halfway and knocked her off her feet. It was stronger than she thought it would be. Using grace that would've even impressed Buffy, she bolted back up and onto her feet.

Since the Nigriv really didn't have a nose to speak of, she slammed her fist right between its eyes. She took advantage of the oozey distraction that now blurred its vision, roared around the demon, positioning herself behind it and slashing the blade across its neck. Gray-green blood gushed out. She stepped back as the demon tried unsuccessfully to staunch the flow.

Great! In the time it took Faith to take it out, three others had appeared. Emma battled in one corner, Dawn and Xander tag-teamed in another; another battle had yet to take place. Faith faced her new opponent, taking in the look of murder in its eyes.

"Here we go again," she growled.

XXXXX

"Bloody hell," Spike grumbled.

Buffy didn't have time to see what was going on with him. She had enough problems of her own. Shadows drifted by her field of vision. Another horde of demons had joined the party.

Buffy swung the scythe and cut another demon in half, its entrails spraying all over her. "Yuck!" The skin around her eyes drew tight. "We need to do something about the portals, Spike! They keep coming out."

Buffy dodged a demon fist and planted one of her own. Spike decapitated two more.

"One per portal, pet. That much, I've noticed. Any suggestions?"

"If I knew what to do, I wouldn't be asking you!" Buffy twisted, and a very pissed off demon just missed pounding her.

"Just keep holding them off, then!"

Buffy pursed her lips. Hold them off? What did he think she had been doing? "We need to find the others." She cut another hair-bag in half.

"You saying what I think you're saying?"

"Run!"

XXXXX

After Faith heard Dawn's high-pitched scream, she tried even harder to wriggle out from underneath the dead demon. It smelled worse than a wet dog--More like a dead, wet dog.

She got the bulk of the weight off and slid out just in time to see Xander fly across the room. He bounced hard against the farthest wall and thudded to the floor. Andrew ran around the room and kicked at the puddles that remained. He spread the slime all over the place. What in the hell was he doing?

How did everything turn to shit so fast?

XXXXX

Emma swung the axe at the demon's head. She hoped one good swing would do it. She didn't care what kind of demon it was; she pretty much figured everything needed a head—except for chickens. And that was just plain weird.

The demon saw the strike coming and deflected it easily. She shouted out in frustration when the axe broke where the handle met the head, which fell to the floor with a loud thud. There was nothing left in her hand but a broken piece of hickory.

She tightened her grip on the piece of wood and started to swing. She was in a ballpark, wasn't she? The demon snatched it right out of her hand and tossed it over her head.

"Oh, crap!" She froze for a moment as she saw the demon lunge toward her. She turned and tried to put some space between herself and the hulking mass of stinky fur in front of her, but it grabbed her by the hair and yanked her back. What was it with her hair?

"Not so fast," it growled.

The beast slammed Emma up against the wall; one of its hairy hands went around her neck. She was pinned there.

"I think I'll keep you for myself," it taunted.

XXXXX

A demon had Emma pinned against the wall by her neck. Her knuckles went white as she tried to relieve the pressure. Dawn didn't fare much better. She was being held around the waist about four feet above the ground.

"Let me go!" Dawn screamed and thrashed about. "You don't want me. Really! I'm not a virgin." She pushed at the demon's arms with her own. "I'm a big slut. Honest! Ask anybody!"

"I can smell your purity," the demon said as he hoisted her up and placed her over his shoulder so Faith was no longer able to see her face.

"God, why do you guys have to be so gross?" Faith asked. She hurled her knife at its head. Without much effort, it snatched the knife out of the air and chucked it back at her, the blade lodging in her thigh.

She went down hard.

XXXXX

Emma clawed at its hand and tried to break its grip. Air would be good about now. She knew if she didn't do something soon, she was going to be out like a light, yet again. She glanced in Faith's direction just in time to see her go down, a knife protruding from her leg.

XXXXX

No way in hell that just happened! Faith was sprawled out on her back, staring at the ceiling, trying to blink away the tears that sprang to her eyes. Fuck, that hurt! Sometimes this slaying thing really sucked.

"Enough!"

Despite the pain, she forced herself up to check out the new threat.

A vampire? Like the Nigrivs weren't enough to deal with, now they had vamps? Shit.

"You!" the vampire bellowed. He pointed at Andrew. "If you don't want to end up like your friend," he indicated Xander, who was still on the floor, back against the wall and slightly out of it, "I suggest you go and sit next to him."

Faith tried to scoot back when he started toward her, the knife still stuck in her leg.

"You must be a Slayer," he said. "Impaled, but still alert." He motioned for another vampire who had followed him into the room. The minion got behind her and hauled her to her feet.

She almost went down again, but the badass behind her was holding her tightly. Yeah, she'd thank him—later. She winced as he pulled her even tighter.

"We don't need you, Slayer. Slayer blood is strong, yes." The head vamp looked at Dawn and then Emma who were now on their feet, but still being held in vice-like grips. "But virgin Slayer blood is even more powerful. A virgin key? Do you know how much power she contains? I actually had to look that one up."

"If he says 'virgin' one more time…" Emma warned to no avail.

"We're no different than anyone else," he continued. "We're on a hellmouth and we want it opened---humanity, not one of our favorites. Now we'll be able to accomplish what we have strived for. It's been too long." He yanked the knife out of Faith's leg so fast she didn't have time to react. "So I guess this is where you get off." He jammed the knife into Faith's stomach. "But not literally."

Faith looked down and saw the blood flowing over the handle of the knife. She reached down and touched the sticky, red liquid. Was that her blood? Her hand was covered in that same sticky-redness. She glanced around the room. Was Buffy here? The mayor was going to be disappointed in her. He wanted her there. She wanted to be there. She was going to let him down. He loved her—and hated Buffy.

Faith shook her head. No, that was another time. Another place.

Her knees buckled and she fell to the floor. Against her better judgment, and having no say in the matter whatsoever, she passed out.

XXXXX

Emma screamed, unwanted tears springing to her eyes. "Faith!" She twisted and turned, trying break free from the stronghold the demon had on her. "Let me go you horse's ass!" The stupid virgin-loving demon held on even tighter.

It was him… the old guy from the store. I'll help you with your cart, you son of a bitch! Emma couldn't believe it when he'd walked into the room. It shouldn't have surprised her that he'd be the one in charge.

"Hello, my dear," he said as he approached her. "Oh, tears? Don't worry. Pretty soon you'll be joining her. Sorry to say, it won't be that quick though."

She jerked her head away from him as he tried to wipe away one of her tears. "Don't touch me."

"We'll do a lot more than just touch you, I'm afraid."

XXXXX

Buffy surveyed her clothes and realized no one would be able to tell what color they were because of all the gunk on them. She turned her flashlight off and shoved it into the back pocket of her pants.

"There's a light." Buffy whispered as she crept toward an open door. Her arm ached from the constant swinging of the scythe, but she was pretty sure that they had taken out the majority of the baddies on their trek here. Spike had been right, only one demon materialized out of each slime pool. It wasn't much, but it helped.

"And voices." Spike looked thoughtful for a moment and then pursed his lips. "I smell blood."

Buffy edged her way closer to the door, but Spike grabbed her arm and stopped her. "It could be Dawn," she snapped.

"Let me check first."

She hesitated and flashed a warning look at him. She stepped aside.

Spike's eyes grew wide as he looked in the door. He twitched once and then took another step forward.

It was Buffy's turn to stop him; she grabbed his arm and pulled him back. "What is it?" her voice shook. He didn't answer her, so she held him back as she stepped around him.

The first thing that registered was Faith's still form lying on the floor. Buffy tried to see if she was still breathing. It took only a moment to see the slow rise and fall of her chest. Unexpected relief flooded through her.

Dawn was okay, she looked a little scared, but she was unharmed as far as Buffy could tell. Xander and Andrew were sitting in a corner. Emma watched a vampire pace around the room, her jaw muscles tight.

Buffy stepped back. "Spike, Faith is alive. They're all alive, but we need to get them out of there. You need to help, understand? You can't lose it," she said in a hushed tone.

"I can't lose _her_."

"And you won't, as long as you move. Now."

They moved far enough away to be out of earshot of the room. Buffy didn't want to take any chances of being overhead before they figured out what they were going to do.

"You're with me, right?" she asked.

Spike offered her a flat smile. "I'm with you. We need to get Faith out of there. We're just wasting time standing here."

"Spike, there are two vampires and two demons. That's it. Not that many. As long as we keep our heads-"

"And they lose theirs-"

"-it won't be a problem. I know you want to help Faith, but our first priority is getting rid of the badness so no one else gets hurt. Understand?"

He drew in a long breath and let it hiss out slowly. "I got it. Now can we go?"


	23. Chapter 23

"We will need to move them," the old vampire said. "Where there's one Slayer, there will be more."

"The ritual," grumbled the demon closest to Dawn. "We need to conduct the ritual. Now. Tonight, Verrill. We have waited too long; too much time wasted stalking the girl."

"And look what we have," snapped Verrill. "We have two sacrifices. Have you stopped to think what that means? One ritual. Not two. One night. Not two. Our patience and perseverance have paid off. Stop questioning me. We need to move someplace more private."

The demon pointed to Faith. "What do we do with her?"

"Nothing. It's not as though she can hurt us, now."

XXXXX

Buffy's eyes went wide. Did she hear what she thought she heard? From the look on Spike's face, there wasn't any doubt. The baddies were going to be leaving, marching past Spike and her if they didn't do something quick-like. Knowing they had no choice, and after a quick nod of understanding, they raced into the room.

Okay, surprise entrance, still fun.

"Bad, bad Verrill," she said as she shook her finger at him, "you should know better than to mess with Slayers… especially three of them."

The Nigriv demons pushed their hostages to the side and came after her; neither one of them seeming to care that Spike was right behind her. Not the smartest move she had ever seen, but it was the move she'd hoped for.

She wondered if any of them could count. They didn't seem to notice that they were outnumbered.

XXXXX

The demon pushed Emma so hard she bounced off the wall. Buffy and Spike! She didn't think that she had ever been more relieved to see anybody in her life.

And that old shit, Verrill, was _so_ going to be hers.

Using the momentum from having been launched off the wall, Emma sprang forward and ducked behind Buffy as the more experienced Slayer fought one demon. Emma vaulted over Spike as he wrestled the other one to the ground. At first she thought both demons were going after Buffy, but they must've seen Spike at the last minute, because they split up.

Man! That thing was on Spike so fast… Well, who _wouldn't_ be on Spike, given the chance?

One minute Spike was on the floor wrestling with the Wookie wanna-be, and the next he had vamped out and thrown it across the room. Wow! She had never seen Spike fangy before. Good thing she had changed her mind that day in the basement and didn't ask him to change for her. That so would've ruined the surprise! She shook her head. She had to force herself to stop staring so she could reach the weapons bag that Faith had dropped.

As she pawed through it, looking for the one weapon she was comfortable with, she saw movement out of the corner of her eye. What did he think, that she was stupid? She found the stake and snatched it out of the bag. She spun around and grabbed Verrill's arm as he made his way toward the door.

"I don't think so, you jerk!" She didn't wait for some snappy comeback; she drove the stake home instead. His dust drifted to the floor like the first snow of winter.

Buffy ran right through the ash, acting like being covered in it was nothing at all and decapitated the last remaining vamp.

"She's not dead, yet. But she could be easily enough."

Buffy stopped dead in her tracks.

The only demon left standing had Faith. One hand supported her body; the other held the knife that was sticking out of her stomach.

"Let me walk out of here and I won't eviscerate your friend," it said.

Emma froze, her stake falling to the floor.

"I'll make it easy for you," Buffy said, taking a step toward the demon and dropping her own weapon to the floor. "You put her down… gently, and then you can deal with me. Mano-y-mano. In a matter of speaking… because I know I'm not a guy and I'm not really sure what you are."

"Do you think I'm stupid, Slayer?" it asked.

"Do you really want me to answer that?" She took another step forward. "So what do you say? A fair trade. You can have me instead."

"Or me."

"Dawn!" Buffy said, her words coming out in a gasp.

Dawn moved closer to Buffy. "I'm what they wanted in the first place. Seems like a little fairer trade."

Spike had worked his way behind fur-face, where Xander and Andrew already were. Demon was kind of dumb; it was so focused on Buffy and Dawn that it wasn't paying attention to anyone else in the room, especially the three men who now stood behind it.

Oh...

Emma moved back and stepped on something. She looked down and saw the handle of her broken axe. Spike was watching her. He nodded toward the handle and then gestured toward himself. He had lost his sword sometime during the scuffle.

She took another step back and the broken piece of hickory was now on the floor in front of her. With some help from her slayer reflexes, she kicked up the piece of wood, caught it in her hand and tossed it to him.

"No!" she shouted as Andrew dove for it. His legs and arms got tangled up with Spike's somehow and they landed on the floor with a loud thud.

The demon pushed Faith away as he tried to protect his back. Emma ran to her, but was pushed out of the way when Spike caught Faith before she hit the ground.

"Faith? Can you hear me?" He cradled her head in his lap. "I'm going to get you out of here."

"Emma!" Buffy shouted. "Grab the scythe!"

What the hell was a scythe? She was about to ask Buffy what it was, but she was a little busy trying to get the demon's hands off her neck.

"It's the red axe!" Dawn shouted. "The one Buffy dropped."

So that's what it was called. She picked it up and tossed it to Dawn. "Do something with this."

Dawn's eyes got big. "Why me?"

Emma didn't answer her; she ran to Buffy and started kicking the demon's knees. At least she thought they were knees. Buffy broke free of the grip around her neck at the same time, which Emma from personal experience could vouch for as sucking, and then Buffy rammed her elbow into its stomach full-force.

"Duck!" Dawn yelled.

Going on instinct if nothing else, Emma and Buffy ducked. The demon's head landed between them.

"Wow!" Emma said as she stood up.

Dawn stood there with a smile that lit up her entire face. "Buffy was right. This thing is kind of cool."

"Dawn--" Buffy began.

"I know. I know." Rolling her eyes, Dawn handed the scythe back to her sister.

"Are we done?" Spike asked. "We need to get her out of here—now." His voice cracked. "I am not watching someone else I love die."

His glance flickered briefly in Buffy's direction, but she didn't notice, she was too busy talking to Andrew. Spike picked Faith up gently and headed for the door.

The reddened knife was lying on the floor, abandoned. A trail of blood marked their exit.

Emma had no choice; she followed them out.

"Are you okay? We need to get out of here," Buffy asked Xander as she helped him to his feet.

"Just peachy," he said, his tone making it clear that it wasn't.

"Then we leave. Now," she said.

XXXXX

"Here," Xander said as he handed Emma a cup of coffee.

"Thanks," she said. Without taking a sip, she sat it down on Faith's bed tray.

"She'll wake up when the doctor thinks she's ready or when Faith's ready. She's not one to be rushed," he said, pulling a chair up and sitting down next to Emma.

"She almost died," Emma said.

"But she didn't," he said, trying to reassure her. Xander could understand her being upset, but he also sensed something else he couldn't quite put his finger on.

"How's your head?" she asked.

"It could've been worse." Now that was an understatement. "You look tired. You haven't been sleeping much, have you?"

"No time, really. With the slaying and the waiting. Fills up a person's schedule pretty quick."

"You don't need to spend all this time here, Emma. They know to call us when she wakes up." He reached out and touched her arm.

Emma drew back hastily.

"Whoa! Sorry."

"No. I'm sorry. Little jumpy." She repressed a yawn.

"Little sleep-deprived is more like it." He took a sip of his own coffee and grimaced.

"I couldn't sleep even if I tried," she confessed, barely above a whisper. "Guilt doesn't make for good sleeping."

He swallowed hard. "Guilt?" She was poised to get up, but he reached out and took her by the arm. "What do you have to feel guilty about?"

"What don't I have to feel guilty about? If she dies…" her voice was low, so low he had to lean closer to hear her. "She'll die hating me because I'm an idiot. I forgot the first rule of vampires, 'don't invite them in' and then I go and get myself kidnapped. If that doesn't scream 'loser', I don't know what does. I don't blame her for hating me."

"Faith doesn't hate you." He let go of her arm.

Red spots flared on her cheeks. "Could've fooled me."

He frowned to himself. "I know Buffy has talked to you already." He caught the confused look on her face. "When Faith lost it and yelled at you because of the Spike thing? I think she told you that it had nothing to do with you. Am I right?" She nodded her head. "Faith isn't healthy processing girl. The more emotions she starts to feel, the more she lashes out, withdraws and she can get kinda mean."

"You don't say."

"That's when you need to push harder. Right back at her."

Her brows crinkled in confusion. "Sounds like a sure-fire way to get your butt kicked."

"Pure defense mechanism. The more she yells at you and pushes you away, the more she likes you. Just ask Spike."

"She doesn't hate me?" she asked tentatively.

"My guess would be the total opposite."

"When did you get so smart?"

He laughed. "I keep telling everyone its survival instinct. Hanging around all these women on a daily basis? I don't have a choice."

Emma smiled and reached for her coffee. "Guess I'm lucky to have you around then? Keep me on the straight and narrow?" She took a sip, matched his grimace and glanced up at him through veiled eyes.

His lips trembled in an insecure smile. "Sure. Why not? I got nothing but time."

XXXXX

"When do you think she'll wake up?" Dawn asked Buffy.

"I don't know, Dawn," she said. "Xander and Emma were there late yesterday and Faith didn't even budge. I'm hoping I'll find out more today. Emma's there now, she went to the hospital as soon as we finished patrolling. Kid doesn't sleep." She grabbed the keys to the van and her jacket off the hook by the front door.

"I think I'll take today off," Dawn said, sitting next to Xander and Andrew on the couch.

Buffy followed her into the living room. "Are you okay?"

"It's too hard just waiting for her to wake up," she said.

"She'll be okay."

"What's important is that I tried," Andrew said.

Buffy and Dawn had walked in on the middle of some conversation Xander and Andrew were having.

"What are you talking about?" Buffy asked Andrew as she put her jacket on.

"I've been trying to convince Xander for almost a week," he said, "that I helped you guys. The dissolution of the gooey stuff was all me! In the little room at least." His shoulders slumped. "They were _coming out_ of the goo. I figured if there was no goo, there would be no demons. Xander doesn't believe me."

Buffy hated to do it, but she had no choice. "He's right, Xander. Like it or not. One demon per portal-puddle and he took care of the rest of the puddles."

Xander had been sitting quietly on the couch the entire time. The bump on his head had been bothering him more than he cared to admit. "So the entire 'puddle-kicking' exercise actually had a point?"

"It did," Buffy said. "Andrew was right."

"I thought I got knocked on the head a little harder than I thought there for a minute," Xander conceded.

There was no mistaking the pride in Andrew's voice. "I'm sorry, what did you say, Buffy?" Cupping his ear with his hand. "I didn't quite hear you."

Dawn smacked his arm. "Don't push it."

"Now as soon as Giles figures out what to do with the rest of them-" Buffy began.

"Which I have already done," Giles said, walking into the living room, Willow not too far behind him.

"Already done what?" Buffy asked.

"Willow and I have come up with a plan to make sure our friends don't materialize again anytime soon," he said, proceeding to tell them what the plan was.

"The magic stuff sure comes in handy once in awhile," Willow added with a smile.

XXXXX

_I will not make the same mistakes that you did  
I will not let myself  
Cause my heart so much misery  
I will not break the way you did,  
You fell so hard  
I've learned the hard way  
To never let it get that far_

Faith wasn't sure what woke her up, but she was awake now and not very happy about it.

_Because of you  
I never stray too far from the sidewalk  
Because of you  
I learned to play on the safe side so I don't get hurt  
Because of you  
I find it hard to trust not only me, but everyone around me  
Because of you  
I am afraid_

"Did the radio wake you?" Buffy asked. "It was kind of quiet, thought it would be nice." She was sitting in the visitor's chair. "Thought I had the volume turned down low enough."

_I cannot cry  
Because I know that's weakness in your eyes  
I'm forced to fake  
A smile, a laugh everyday of my life  
My heart can't possibly break  
When it wasn't even whole to start with  
_

Faith tried to scratch the sudden itch she felt near her side, but changed her mind when she felt the pain there. "Damn!"

_I watched you die  
I heard you cry every night in your sleep  
I was so young  
You should have known better than to lean on me  
You never thought of anyone else  
You just saw your pain  
And now I cry in the middle of the night  
For the same damn thing_

"Need to watch that. Kind of a double-edged sword—the healing-pain thing." She stood up and walked toward her. "How are you feeling?"

_I'm ashamed of my life because it's empty  
Because of you  
I am afraid  
_

"Like shit. Can you turn the radio off?"

Buffy turned it off. She sat down on the edge of the bed.

"How long have I been here?" Faith asked.

"Not quite a week. The doctor is very impressed with your speedy recovery. Told him it ran in the family…"

"We look nothing alike."

"Only way we could be here around the clock." Buffy shrugged her shoulders and smiled. "Besides, we are kinda like family."

This was a lot different from the last time she woke up from almost being gutted. "When can I get out of here?"

"I'm not sure. You're healing pretty fast, though."

"Sliced and diced." Faith looked down at the hospital gown she was wearing. She couldn't see the bandages and stitches she knew were down there. "I thought I got it in the gut?"

Buffy shifted nervously. "The knife went in and then got pulled a little toward your side before it came out." She shook her head. "Doctor kept you drugged-up an extra couple days so you'd rest. You're very lucky; it could've killed you."

"Walking across the street can kill you." She tried to sit up straighter, she didn't like the fact that Buffy was looking down to talk to her.

"Need any help?" Buffy asked as she stood up. "I can raise the back of your bed for you."

"Just give me the thing and I'll do it."

Faith took the control and raised the back of the bed as far as she could. When her side began to burn, she stopped and put the remote on her bed tray.

"Spike's been here every night, Faith. He heads back to the house just before sunrise. He's really going to be disappointed that he missed being here when you woke up."

Faith shifted uncomfortably, but said nothing.

Buffy plucked at her sleeve. "Emma's here, too. She ran down to get something to drink. She's been worried sick about you. She should be back anytime," she continued. "Andrew was right about the puddles. He's strutting around like a peacock."

"The puddles?"

Buffy filled her in on how the puddles actually did serve as 'one-per-customer' portals for the Nigriv demons. "Giles and Willow are going to take care of the rest of them. A mysterious, controlled fire will burn through the stadium in record time and then burn itself out. Thanks to the coven. Long story, but that's pretty much the guts of it…. Um, I mean the basics."

Faith arched an eyebrow at her. "And the hellmouth will remain sealed once more?"

"Yeah. The vamp population has shown up again. Guess they were lying low and waiting for the hellmouth to open. Now that it's not, it's been pretty much business as usual. Emma and I have been patrolling together. She's pretty good."

"Xander okay?"

"He and Emma have been spending a lot of time together. I honestly think they're good for each other. Xander, on the other hand, is trying to figure out why he's been incapacitated the last few big fights. Locked in a cave the last time, and sitting on the floor, leaning against a wall this time. I told him that he has a guardian angel or something." Buffy smiled. "I think he's still kinda mad about it."

Faith's gaze shifted around the room. She hadn't noticed the balloons, flowers and cards that were scattered around. "Who?"

Buffy stood up and walked over to the dresser where most were displayed. "All of these are from Emma. Girl's gotta too much money and no idea what to do with it." She then pointed to a bunch of balloons that hovered by the TV set. "Those are from Dawn."

Faith tilted her head. Were her ears working right? Dawn brought her balloons? She was starting to think she woke up in an alternate dimension or something.

"She was here yesterday," Buffy continued. "She wanted to talk to you, but you were still asleep. She asked me to tell you that she'd see you when you got home." Buffy pointed to the last set of flowers: orchids, roses, carnations, all arranged in a white basket with a big pink bow. "These are from the rest of us. Andrew picked them out."

Spike didn't bring her flowers?

Buffy must've read her mind. "Spike didn't bring any flowers; he said it would only piss you off."

Faith couldn't help but smile.

"You're awake!" The exuberance of the younger Slayer couldn't be denied as Emma bounded into the room. "I didn't think you'd ever wake up." She was holding a life-sized teddy bear and another handful of balloons. "I brought you these."

"And on that note," Buffy said, "I'm outta here." She walked over to Faith and kissed her on the forehead. "See you later."

Faith didn't have time to take in what Buffy had done before Emma did the exact same thing. Definitely an alternate dimension. "Enough!" she said, a little louder than she had intended.

It didn't faze Emma in the least; she skipped over to the dresser and arranged her newest additions, giving the teddy bear a hug before she set it down on the floor in front of it.

"Are you done now?" Faith asked.

"What? You don't like flowers and teddy bears?" Emma plopped down on the bed. "Everyone likes flowers and teddy bears."

"How long have you been here? And how much caffeine have you had?"

Emma laughed. "I'm here all day long--everyday." Her cheeks flushed and she looked a little embarrassed. "I leave and go slaying with Buffy at night."

"Why?"

"Because I'm a Slayer and that's what Slayers do."

Faith rolled her eyes. "Not the slaying. Why are you spending so much time here?"

"You don't know?"

"If I knew I wouldn't be asking."

Emma's voice was barely above a whisper. "Because it's my fault that you're here."

"What?"

"It's my fault."

Faith forced herself to sit up despite the pain. "No," her voice caught in her throat, "it is not your fault. I don't want to hear you say that ever again."

"But it is."

"Damn it, Emma," she said. "It's my fault, not yours. I was a bitch and then I left you alone when I knew what could happen. Don't you get that? You're young. You're a new Slayer. I should've known better. You needed me and I wasn't there for you. That's my fault. Not yours." Faith fell back against the pillow.

"You mean that?"

"Yes, I mean that."

Emma leaned forward and gave Faith a gentle hug. "Xander was right."

What did Xander have to do with any of this? "About what?"

"You like me."

Faith whacked the pillow, trying to flatten it out. "Xander never knows what he's talking about."

"You'd be surprised."

XXXXX

_Lyrics from Kelly Clarkson's Because of You_


	24. Chapter 24

"I need to go back to L.A.," Spike said.

"Do what you gotta do."

She shrugged and straightened the sheet, wanting even more to be out of the hospital. The room was starting to feel smaller and she was feeling even more trapped.

He dragged a chair closer to her bed. "Faith, I don't want to go back. I need to go back. Angel's been complaining about some thorn he has in his bleeding side. His timing is awful, as usual, but I need to help him with that and then I'll come back. It shouldn't take long."

"Like I said, do what you gotta do." Faith reached for the television remote, but Spike took it out of her hand before she could turn it on.

"Damn it, Faith." Spike stood up, dropped the remote on her bed and began to pace. "I am not leaving you. Do you understand that?"

"You're not leaving me? Why should I care what you do? You're not mine. You don't belong to me. I don't even know why you're telling me any of this. Do what you got to do. It's not like I'll be going anywhere anytime soon."

Spike sat back down. "That's the thing, isn't it? You can't leave. You can't run away and hide from me. Not this time."

"It has nothing to do with you. I don't like being in one place long. Never have. Never will."

He looked pained for a moment. "Faith, I think I'm-"

"Don't," she said. "Whatever it is you're going to say, don't fucking say it."

"- in love with you."

"Why don't you ever listen?" Faith threw the sheet back and tried to get out of bed. She felt a sharp pain in her stomach and her breath caught in her throat. Bad idea, Faith. She leaned back.

"Faith…"

"Why are you doing this?"

"Doing what?"

'''Doing what'? You know exactly what you're doing."

"I'm about to leave. Wanted you to know how I felt before I left. Not even you can think that's a bad thing."

Faith turned away from him. "You expect it to change everything. That word doesn't mean shit. People use it all the time. They say they love you right before they leave for days on end." She turned and glared at him. "They say they love you when they touch you, even when you keep telling them, no, and that it's wrong, but they insist its right because they _love_ you. Love doesn't mean much to me, so when you say it…"

"Faith-"

"And don't start with the pity. My life sucked. So. Fucking. What. 'Poor, Faith'. I knew what people said about me, that I never had a chance. Mom was a drinker. 'Faith doesn't know who her dad is.' 'She was left alone too much.' And when mom was home, it didn't take her long to pass out. Shit, all the guys had a little too much time on their hands when that happened. 'Jeez, I wonder what they can do to pass the time'?" Her voice reeked with sarcasm. "Mom always apologized and cried the next day. Promising she'd change. That it wouldn't happen again. Guess what? It happened again--too many fucking times for me to even count. I dealt. I will always deal." Her voice broke. "And you saying you love me isn't going to change any of that. So who gives a shit what you say?"

Where in the hell had all that come from? She must've been more drugged-up then she thought she was.

He took her hands in his. "I'm in love with you."

She yanked her hands away. "I hate you." And in that moment, she meant it.

He looked at her like he understood what she had gone through. Like he understood what it was like being her. There was no way for him to know. No way.

She couldn't help but look back at him. She had hurt him; there was no doubt about it. It was his fault, not hers. She had pushed him away more times than she could count, and here he was. He wouldn't let her go. Why wouldn't he let her go? She didn't deserve any of this.

He's a vampire, for shit's sake. Maybe this was just what she deserved. She could stay with him and grow old, if she even lived that long. Eventually her looks and body would go, and he'd still look like he did at this very moment. Maybe this was _exactly_ what she deserved.

"It won't last," she said.

"What won't last?"

"What is it with you and this love thing? You always think you're in love until someone else comes along. And then surprise, 'Spike's in love with somebody else.' What makes this time any different?"

Spike stood up. "Bloody hell, woman. Because I know it's different. That's why." He sighed heavily. "I have to go to L.A. Call it a sense of duty. But when I come back to you, I'll prove it then and make you believe." He turned toward the door and then stopped, never looking at her. "I'll be back, Faith. You can be sure of it."

XXXXX

"I can go with you," Andrew said.

"Oh, because when we hung out the last time it worked out so well?" Emma said, putting her shoes on.

"I'm sorry." He sighed. "Some Watcher I'll be."

She had meant it as a joke, but from the look on his face, he wasn't taking it that way. "I was kidding. Wasn't your fault. Wasn't anyone's fault. And you figured out the secret of the goo."

He chuckled. "Sounds like a Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew mystery."

"Who?"

"Classic TV. They were teenagers that solved mysteries."

Emma had no idea what he was talking about.

"Never mind." He rolled his eyes.

She figured she might as well level with him, not like she had a choice. If she didn't, he would take it personally and not believe her when she said it wasn't his fault.

She leaned against the front door. "I need to do this."

"Need?"

"I'm a little weirded out about going there alone. Only one way to ditch the fear. You know?"

A look of understanding flashed across his face. "Oh. You need to conquer the Meijer store-fear."

"I used to go there alone all the time and didn't think anything of it. I need to get to do it again. It's stupid to be scared."

"Sometimes, I guess."

"Sometimes," she agreed. "Now I'm off to get Faith more stuff. She's going to have a heck of a time getting it all back here."

"If she brings it back."

"Good point."

XXXXX

Spike had been gone for over a week. Faith kept telling herself that she didn't care. She just wanted to blow this place. Fucking hospital. She hated them. Hated them even more when she was the patient. Patient? She was anything but.

Buffy came in as she was putting the last of her things into her bag. "Need any help?" she asked.

"Nope," she said as she zipped up her bag.

"Where's all the balloons and stuff?"

Faith slung her bag over her shoulder and glanced around the room. "I told the nurse to take them to the children's ward. Not like I need them."

"How do you feel?" Buffy asked as her brow creased in concern.

Faith turned to her. "Doc said I'll be okay. Gonna have a scar. Not a big deal, it'll keep the other one company." She saw the guilt creep into Buffy's face. She sighed--hard. Stupid thing to say. "I'll be fine. Let's go."

Faith was surprised to see the van waiting for them outside the visitor's entrance. She was even more surprised to see Emma driving it.

"Faith!" Emma yelled, getting out of the van and running up to her. "Let me take that." She grabbed Faith's bag out of her hand.

"I got it," Faith said, trying to pull it back, but that made her stitches pull again. God, she couldn't wait to get those things out.

"I knew you needed help." Emma strode over to the passenger door of the van and opened it. "Get in."

Faith turned and looked at Buffy. "What is it with the young ones being all bossy nowadays? I don't get it."

Buffy laughed. "Oh, like you weren't bossy when you were younger... or older... or now. Nice try. Now, get in the van before she tries to pick you up and put you in."

Faith wouldn't put is past the younger Slayer. "I'm getting in," she told Emma. "Back off."

Emma gave her a sideways glance and then jumped into the van. They rode home in silence.

"We moved your stuff back upstairs," Buffy said as she opened the front door.

"Why'd you do that?"

Buffy cocked her head slightly to one side. "Why do you think?"

Faith tried to avoid looking at her. This was one discussion she didn't feel like getting in to. Why couldn't people just drop stuff? One thing she'd never understand.

"I'm tired," Faith said as she grabbed her bag from Emma. "I'm taking a nap." She threw the bag over her shoulder and willed herself not to wince at the pain it caused. She'd be damned if she'd let somebody help her again.

As soon as she got to her room, she closed the door and locked it, dropping the bag to the floor. Getting stabbed in the stomach once, bad. Falling into a coma that wasn't drug-induced, worse. She tried to convince herself that she was better off this time.

"Faith?" Dawn called through the closed door.

Faith shook her head. She knew this would be coming, she was hoping that it wouldn't be so soon.

"Faith?" Dawn repeated. "You still awake?"

Faith ambled toward the door and opened it. "Haven't been up here long enough to fall asleep."

"Can I talk to you a second?" Dawn slumped against the doorframe. "It'll only take a minute."

Faith managed a weak smile. "Why not?"

Dawn pitched herself forward and sat on the bed. Faith leaned on the same spot Dawn had just vacated.

"Thank you," Dawn said. "You tried to save my life." She pointed toward the bandage that peeked out from underneath Faith's shirt. "You got that trying to save me. That's not something I'll forget. I was hoping we could start over. Bygones and all. If it's okay with you?"

Faith shrugged. "I'm a Slayer. That's what I do."

Dawn stood up and walked over to her. "I don't care if that's what you do. You tried to save my life."

Faith stood up and shrugged. "Fine. Whatever-"

"I just wanted you to know that it was appreciated. It's all going to work out," Dawn said and then she smiled. "I just know it."

Faith couldn't prove it, but she suspected that the new and improved version of Dawn had something to do with Emma or maybe even B. She'd never know for sure, but she wasn't going to be looking no gift-horse in the mouth either.

XXXXX

Faith rolled over and rubbed her eyes, the movement pulling on her stitches. She winced and pulled herself up slowly. She must've slept for awhile because she was starving..

She stood at her bedroom door and listened. Silence. Good. She wasn't in the mood for anymore one-on-one, heart-to-heart talks. She just wanted to eat.

She made her way down the stairs slowly. Despite the odd twinges here and there, her side didn't hurt so much anymore, but it still wasn't all that great of a feeling.

She grabbed a bowl out of the refrigerator and inspected the contents. It'd do. She shoved it into the microwave. Not wanting to wait, she glared at the time indicator and willed it to count down a little faster.

"Dawn made the spaghetti," Xander said.

Her shoulders slumped. So much for being alone. "Any good?"

"Surprisingly, yes," he said, a note of amazement in his voice. "She's been doing a lot of cooking lately."

"Guess everyone needs a hobby." The microwave dinged. Faith opened the door, grabbed the bowl and sat down at the kitchen table. "Where is everybody?"

Xander sat down across from her. "I'm not sure. Hard to keep track. Everyone's got a lot of time on their hands with no current big bad to fight."

"I guess that's a good thing," she said as she shoved a forkful of spaghetti into her mouth.

She ate in silence and had almost finished when Xander asked, "How are you feeling?"

"Fine." She shrugged her shoulders. "I should be golden in no time."

"Not what I meant."

She dropped her fork into the bowl. "Just stop."

"Am I pushing it?"

"Not just you. It's everybody. I didn't die. Enough of the nicey-nice."

"I don't think that's it." He reached for the bowl and pulled it toward him. He ate a bite of spaghetti. "Not bad. Tastes better the second time around."

"Oh, go ahead. I was done."

He smiled. "I kinda got that when you dropped your fork."

"There's more in the fridge."

"This is good." He finished the spaghetti and pushed the empty bowl back in front of her.

Faith couldn't help it. She yawned. "Damn. Feel like I haven't slept in a month and that's all I've been doing."

"And that surprises you?"

"I guess not."

"You should rest. Get ready for whatever's coming."

"What's coming?"

"Who knows," he said as he stood up. "There's always something."

XXXXX

"_Faith?"_

"_What?"_

"_How can I be dreaming this? I'm not sleeping, am I?" Buffy asked._

"_How in the hell am I supposed to know what you're doing, B. Last thing I knew I was upstairs taking a nap... again."_

"_Oh! I fell asleep on the couch. The nap thing sounded pretty good to me, too. Too much sugar from all the cookies Dawnie baked."_

"_Now that we got that settled, where in the hell are you?" Faith squinted into the bright light, surprised that she had forgotten all about these._

"_I'm here."_

_Faith jumped, Buffy was standing right behind her. "Warn me next time." _

"_You jumped and didn't grimace. That's new."_

_Faith reached down and hiked up her shirt. There were no bandages, no scars. "Dreams are kinda cool in that way I guess," she said, pulling her shirt back down. "So why are we here, B?"_

_Buffy sighed. "I don't know."_

_A feminine voice in front of them called out, "You know it's got to be pret-ty important for me to be here."_

"_Cordelia?" Buffy asked, not able to keep the complete surprise out of her voice._

"_You were expecting Oprah?"_

"_What are you doing here?" Faith asked. _

"_Are you the one who's been causing these things?" Buffy added. _

_Cordelia nodded her head. "It's a Powers That Be thing. Just because I'm dead doesn't mean I still don't have stuff to do. I'm kind of important nowadays."_

"_The higher being thing." Buffy looked at Faith. "I never really got that."_

"_Hey!" Cordelia said, "Standing right here."_

"_What?" Faith said as she looked at her. "I mean, come on. What is this? Why are you here? And why are we here?"_

_She floated to them. "Neat trick, huh?" _

_The brightness lessened, but a swirl of fog still blocked the view of their surroundings. The only thing Faith could see was the three of them. Cordelia, wearing all white, almost blended completely into the cottony atmosphere._

_The joking tone disappeared from Cordelia's voice. "I don't know how else to say it, so here goes." Her voice broke as she continued, "Spike went back to L.A. to help Angel fight the Circle of the Black Thorn. Wes and Gunn are dead."_

"_Oh, God," Buffy cried._

"_I want to wake up now," Faith said. "I've had enough fun for one day." Wesley was dead? Wes? It couldn't be possible. Faith was supposed to die before he did. He was the good guy. "I want to wake up," she repeated._

"_Keep it together, you two," Cordelia said. "Spike and Angel are… they need you. I've told you all I'm allowed." She turned to go; glancing back over her shoulder she added, "You need to go to L.A.--The Hyperion."_

"_When?" Faith and Buffy asked in unison._

"_Now."_

Faith didn't think it was possible, but the brightness became even more radiant before disappearing altogether, Cordelia along with it.

Faith and Buffy were standing in the street outside the Hyperion; the hotel Angel used to call home.

From what Faith could tell, there wasn't much left of the old building's structure. Part of her expected to see smoke rising from the ruins; that didn't happen.

"Are we dreaming?" Buffy asked.

"Not anymore."

Faith knew how realistic Slayer dreams could be sometimes, but this was different. She didn't have any doubts. It was real.

"We're really in L.A., aren't we?" Buffy asked.

Faith took a step forward.

Buffy reached out and tugged on her elbow. "Are you ready for this?"

"Do we have a choice?"

Buffy sighed. "I think I want to wake up, too. What if they're-?"

"We won't know if we keep standing out here," Faith said. "Let's just get this over with."

"Too bad Cordelia couldn't have loaded us up with a weapon or two," Buffy said.

Faith yanked on the front door, and jumped back as it came crashing down to the ground. "This'll be fun."

"We have sunlight on our side."

"Yeah, if we stumble across any uglies, we'll ask them to follow us outside." Faith said as she stepped across the threshold and into the rubble that used to be main lobby.

"Don't snap at me!" Buffy said, following her in.

"Sorry. Little on edge, B."

"Which way?"

"How am I supposed to know?"

"Hey, snappy." Buffy glared at her. "Where would you go if you were a wounded vampire?"

"Basement."

"Let's go."

The light leading downstairs wasn't good. Add that to the fact that there weren't many stairs left. They'd be lucky if didn't end up a twisted pile of broken limbs at the bottom of the steps.

"Shit."

"Where's good vampire senses when you need them?" Buffy asked.

"Hiding somewhere with the good vampires."

"I can't see anything."

"Me neither."

"This is pointless"

"Just be quiet and listen. Do I need to draw you two a map?" Cordelia said.

"Where the hell are you?" Faith asked.

"I'm gone. Just like Angel's soul when he's got a happy." There was no escaping the sigh that echoed through the abandoned basement. "Go to your left. All the way to the back."

"Why didn't you just say so in the first place?" Buffy asked.

"You're welcome. Now I'm outta here... for real this time."

"You heard her," Buffy said. "Let's go to the left."

"Right behind you, B."

Faith wasn't sure if it was her eyes getting used to the dark or if it was getting lighter, but it was getting easier to see down here.

"There!" Buffy called, pointing.

Faith's gaze followed her finger. There was no mistaking the two shadowy figures slumped against the wall.

"What's wrong with them?"

"Let's go find out," Faith said tentatively. This was getting to be too much. Even for her.

Not having a lot of light to work with, she couldn't see much, but there was no mistaking the still forms of Spike and Angel. "They're not dead," she said. "They'd be dust and we wouldn't be looking at them right now."

"Good point."

Buffy bent down in between the two. Faith would've been blind not to see the shock that spread across her face.

"What?"

"They're alive."

"We already knew that."

"No," Buffy said, the meager light reflecting the unshed tears that glistened in her eyelashes. "They're _alive_, Faith."

TBC


	25. Conclusion

"Bloody hell," Spike shouted from the office. He stormed into the lobby, sucking his finger. Faith and Angel stared at him from the front door. "What?" he asked, arching a brow. "I got a sliver."

Buffy followed on his heels. "Exactly how long is it going to take you to stop being such a big baby about everything?" She grabbed his hand and started picking at the splinter.

"Bloody hell, woman! That hurts." He tried to pull his hand back, but she wouldn't have anything to do with it.

"Just stop. It'll only hurt for a second," she said, now trying to pry the stubborn piece of wood out with her teeth.

"Same thing Dru used to say," he mumbled under his breath.

"Um, Buffy," Angel began. "I'm trying to be the modern kind of boyfriend and everything, but would you mind taking Spike's finger out of your mouth?"

"Hmm?" was all she managed to say. She was now sucking on the tip of his index finger. "Got it!" she declared, as the culprit now glistened from the tip of her finger. "It was right there. No way I was not going to get it out," she said, wiping her finger on her jeans.

"It doesn't bother you that Buffy was just sucking on his finger?" Angel asked Faith.

"It's his finger… and her mouth. Why should I care?" She turned away from them and began to study the new door frame.

"Did that sound way dirtier than it should have?" Buffy asked.

Faith chose to ignore Buffy's last comment and looked at Spike. "You have been human for three months now," Faith said. "It's a fucking sliver. Get over it."

"I don't care how long I've been a real boy, pet. Slivers hurt and construction sucks. I 'spect those two things will never change."

"My back is aching," Angel said, tossing a two-by-four to the ground. "I think I'm ready for a break."

"Breaks?" Xander said, running down the stairs as if on cue. "There will be no breaks. We need to brace up these walls. Tighten up those floorboards. Stain and seal the new front door. If you want Angel Investigations to get up and running again, this place has got to be in tip-top shape. Professionalism and experience. P & E breed income. Income is of the good."

"P & E?" Faith asked, crinkling her eyes.

"What's happened to him?" Angel asked.

"Not sure, but I think he might be channeling Anya," Buffy suggested, shrugging her shoulders.

"And that would be of the bad why?" Xander asked. "Woman knew how to make money." He picked up the board Angel dropped and handed it back to him. "Besides, I can't stay here helping you guys out forever. I got places to go and…"

"Virgin-slayers to do," Spike finished for him.

"Glad to see the human-thing doesn't dampen your crude-thing," Xander said.

"He's all in a hurry," Faith said to Angel, filling him in, "'cause he knows Emma'll hunt him down if he stays here too long."

Angel smirked and Xander gave Faith the evil eye.

"How's that no demon thing working out for you anyway?" Xander asked Angel

He smiled one of his lop-sided smiles. "Might want to ask Buffy about that one."

"Yo, dude. Like anybody needs to ask B. She makes it loud and clear every night... and sometimes during the day," Faith said.

"Hey!" Buffy said. "I'm right here."

Angel blushed but kept quiet.

"And, damn, I don't know if I'll ever get used to this blushing thing you got going on," Faith said to Angel. She shrugged and then looked at Xander. "I'm still not sure how you got out of Detroit without Emma. Kid's been dying to come to California."

"It was Giles," Buffy said, her glare switching between Faith and Xander. "He told her how important having a Slayer on the Hellmouth was. Her sense of duty kicked in. She's been trained well. She's got plenty of company, though. Dawn and Andrew have been hanging out with her a lot and Willow's been showing her some magic."

"Girl is definitely being entertained in our absence," Faith said as she flopped on an old couch, shooting dust into the air. "I'm hungry. I can't play construction-gal on an empty stomach. This hot chick with super powers needs food."

Buffy pulled on Angel's arm. "We'll run out and get something. Chinese work for everyone?"

"Don't care, B. Just make sure whatever you get, there's lots of it." She jutted her head in Spike's direction. "He's a bottomless pit."

"You should talk." He sat down next to her. "Beer would be good."

"Anything else?" Buffy asked.

"I'll come with," Xander said, grabbing his jacket. "Think I'm in the mood for something different. Maybe something will call out to me on the way."

"A cross-dressing prostitute from a corner?" Spike's voice went up a couple notches, "Oh, Xander!"

Faith wasn't surprised when Xander didn't even acknowledge Spike's remark. A lot of things had changed, but the relationship between the two of them was not one of them.

As soon as the front door closed, Faith straddled Spike. "Think we might have some time to kill."

Spike wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer. "Thought construction-gal was tired and hungry."

"Some wood is harder to work with than others," she said grinding her center against the slowly growing bulge in his jeans.

He placed his hands on her hips and lifted her off.

"Hey!" she protested, as she found herself sitting next to him again.

"Not until you admit you love me for more than my body."

"Not this again! Do you know how lame that sounds?" She got up off the couch and faced him squarely. They hadn't gotten down and dirty since Detroit, and the lack of action was making her more than a little crazy. Extra time in the shower? Not even close to cutting it anymore. "Are you sure little Spikey even works anymore? You haven't even tried him out in, like, months."

"There is no little, woman." He smirked at her. "And who says I haven't tried it out?"

"Angel's so gonna kick your ass."

He heaved a sigh and stood up. "Not with Buffy."

"Angel? Then it's Buffy who's so gonna kick your ass."

"Not with anybody. Just memories of you, pet."

"That doesn't do me a hell of a lot of good." She stormed past him, grabbing the piece of lumber Angel had dropped.

"The ball's in your court… more or less," he said as he joined her.

"So you're proving to me how much you love me by cutting me off? Told you love blows." She looked around for the hammer and nails.

He took the board out of her hand and then guided her back to the couch. She yanked her hand out of his and sat down, ignoring the fact that he flinched. The sliver was the least of his problems.

He sat down next to her. "Faith…"

"You're not going to lecture me again, are you?"

"Told you I'd prove it to you." He leaned back and laced his fingers together behind his head. "And this is the way I choose to do it."

"You don't make any sense."

"Love, sex, hurt, and trust. They're all different. You've got them all wrapped up into one. It's time for us to try to separate them." He leaned forward and looked at her.

"Us? You got a mouse in your pocket?" She rubbed his jeans just over the most-sensitive spot. She felt a little movement and smiled. "Or are you just happy to see me?"

He pushed her hand away. "Do you trust me?"

He was making her wicked-crazy with this new game he was playing. If it weren't for Angel needing her help in getting A.I. going again, she would've bolted a long time ago. A few slivers and sore muscles were the least she could do for him.

"Do you trust me?" he repeated.

She nodded her head. That was pretty much an easy one to answer. She trusted him… pretty much.

He smiled. "See? That wasn't so hard."

"And neither are you. We could change that though."

"Do you think I'd ever hurt you?"

"I was hoping for just a little bit," she said moving so that her ample cleavage was a little more obvious to him. Nothing. She flopped back against the couch, causing yet another swirl of dust to hit the still air. "Fine. No."

He'd been this way since they had found him and Angel in the basement. Once she had known he was going to be okay, Faith started making the moves and Spike had started making new rules. It was only a question of time who would fold first.

"What about sex? You know there's a difference between sex and making love, right?"

Now he was talking. "Sex is what I live for." She shrugged. "Sex and slaying. Hmm? Wonder if I could mix the two? Sex while slaying?" She creased her brow in concentration. "Haven't tried that yet. Could be fun." She nuzzled up to him again, this time making sure she rubbed her chest across his arm. "Up against a crypt. Stake in one hand. You in the other…"

He moved away from her. "You pick up a guy. One night stand territory. That's sex, Faith. Making love is what we do. Or what we used to do."

"I don't know where you were, but there was some down and dirty, grunting and groaning going on between us there."

His expression cooled ten degrees. "You're not stupid, so stop acting like it."

She knew she was smirking, but she couldn't help it. "See all this going on?" She moved her hand back and forth between them. "It's sexual frustration. You do me right here and now and you won't be all tense. You trust me, right?" Her smirk changed to an all out smile.

"I have never met a more infuriating woman in my entire life!"

"I wouldn't say that."

His shoulders slumped. "Fine. You are the second most infuriating woman I've ever met in my life."

"Damn B! She beats me to everything." She fell against the back of the couch. "Good thing Angel and I never did the deed. Although I think Angelus might've been interesting."

"Are you insane? Angelus would've killed you… or you would've begged him to do it."

The playfulness rolled off of her as quickly as rain could wash away blood in an alley. "Kinda already been there."

"Not what I meant and you know it."

"I know."

Spike stared into the distance. "I don't know what to do anymore."

"Look," she said. "I have never been or never will be the 'I love you' type. If you're waiting for me to say that, you'll be waiting a hell of a long time. And time, in case you haven't noticed, is ticking away for you as fast as it is ticking away for me nowadays."

He studied her face, but said nothing.

"You're cool. I like hanging with you. I don't think about hanging with anybody else when I'm with you." She pursed her lips. "And as long as we're going for honest, I guess I'll admit I didn't think about hanging with anybody else, even when I wasn't with you." She wasn't about to give him a detailed account of what was going on in her head. Not like she could if she tried. "That's as good as it's going to get with me. If you can't deal… well, sorry." She let out a long breath.

He took her face in his hands. "That'll do."

"That'll do?" She relaxed a little bit. "That'll do for now? Or that'll do?"

His lips softly pressed against hers and then he pulled away. Her heart about dropped to her toes. She licked where his lips had been.

"That'll do."

He hadn't exactly given in to her and she hadn't exactly given in to him.

"This is one of those compromise things, isn't it?" she asked.

He stroked her jaw. "You can call it that. It's you and me now, Faith. You agree to that and it's the end of this discussion. You understand that?"

Shit, she actually did understand it. And her mouth was agreeing to it before she had the chance to think it through all the way. "I think I do."

He pointed toward the stairs. "Then we have things to do…"

"Sure hope everyone likes Moo Goo Gai Pan," Buffy said, rushing in the front door. "We got like six orders of it."

"What exactly is Kung Pao Chicken?" Xander asked, coming in behind her, a case of beer in his hand. "It sounds more like a move Jackie Chan would make... minus the chicken."

Could their timing be any worse? Faith let out another long breath.

"Just don't be giving me any of those lettuce wrap things," Angel said, dropping a bunch of bags on a makeshift table. "I came back as a human, not as a rabbit."

Faith tried not to look at Spike, but her eyes kept slipping back to his face. She didn't want Chinese, she wanted him. And by the look on his face, he was as ready to go as she was.

"You two going to sit there and ogle each other or are you going to eat?" Angel asked as he bit into an egg roll.

"It's been confirmed," Spike said, standing. "You are more annoying this way."

"Oh, I don't know," Buffy said, "there are way more perky-perks with him like this."

"TMI, B," Faith said, joining them at the table.

"No!" Buffy blushed. "Perky as in perk-like, not perky as in…"

"Since I am the only one not all couply at the moment," Xander pleaded. "Can we stop with the sexual-innuendo, please?"

"Innuendo? There is no innuendo," Buffy said.

Faith grabbed a bag of egg rolls and one of the containers of Moo Goo Gai Pan. "You three can sit down here and do whatever you want to do. Spike and me? Leaving."

She looked at Spike, willing him to follow. He smiled, grabbed another container of Moo Goo Gai Pan and followed her up the stairs.

"They better not be as loud as you two are," Xander said, a crimson blush spread up from under his collar. "What am I saying? It's Faith." He coughed out a nervous laugh. "I need to go back to Detroit."

Buffy smiled and squeezed his arm. "We'll book you a flight after dinner."

"Bless you."

"That's what friends are for."

"Can we just stop talking and start eating?" Angel asked. "I'm starving."

- The End -


End file.
